Research Achievements of AICRPDA Centre Ballowal Saunkhri since inception

Not AvailableAICRPDA centre Ballowal Saunkhri is located in the agro-climatic Zone-l in the North-Eastern part of the Punjab. This zone popularly called kandi area is in the form of 10 to 20 km wide strip covering an area of approx 3.93 lakh hectares which comprises approximately 7.8 per cent of total geographical area of the State. The region stretches from Dhar Kalan block of Pathankot district to Dera Bassi block of SAS Nagar. The climate of the region varies between semi-arid to sub-humid. Rainwater constitutes the major water source for crops that becomes scarce due to erratic distribution in time and space. The region receives average annual rainfall of 800-1500 mm with a very high coefficient of variation. About 80% rain occurs in Kharif season (July-September) and rest 20% occurs in rabi season. A major portion (30-40%) of rain goes as runoff. Majority of the soils range from loamy sand to sandy loam and have low to medium moisture retention capacity and are highly erodible having gentle to moderate slope. The inherent fertility of the soils of this area is very low. Maize is the principal crop of Kandi area, beside this pearlmillet, greengram, blackgram and sesame are the other important kharif crops. Wheat, raya, taramira, lentil and gram are major rabi crops. The other emerging crops in the region are gobhi sarson, toria, linseed and arhar. The success of crops in this region depends upon the soil and water management.Not Availabl