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ICAR-Indian Institute of Horticultural Research and Association for Advancement of Pest Management in Horticultural Ecosystems (AAPMHE), Bengaluru have jointly organised the virtual meeting on 21/12/2020 to commemorate and observe the “International Year of Plant Health-2020 (IYPH2020)” as declared by UN. On this occasion, Dr. Arabinda Kumar Padhee, IAS who is presently the Director, Country Relations, ICRISAT, New Delhi has joined as Chief Guest.
Dr. V. Sridhar, Principal Scientist (Entomology) and Secretary, AAPMHE has welcomed all the participants and the Chief Guest, Dr. Arabinda Kumar Padhee, IAS. Dr. M. Krishna Reddy, Head, Division of Crop Protection and President, AAPMHE explained about importance of IYPH2020. Dr. V. Sridhar introduced the chief guest to the audience through his illustrious bio data and his involvement in various policy decisions related to agriculture in his career. On this occasion, Dr. Padhee gave a talk on “Healthy Plants for Sustainability in Indian Agriculture”. He covered various issues faced by farmers regarding plant protection etc. He also addressed the audience regarding issues related to biosecurity, biosafety and various pathways for effectively tackling the issues in this regard. He highlighted the importance of pest management for sustainable crop production and stressed on five factors which needs attention in this direction i.e., Pest and Nutrient Management, Promotion of Organic Farming, Strengthening the quarantine system, Need For Massive Awareness among the farmers. The talk was followed by discussion on the topic wherein several participants have participated and interacted with the chief guest. The programme ended with vote of thanks by Dr. R. Umamaheshwari, Senior Scientist (Nematology) and Treasurer, AAPMHE. Various participants including scientists from IIHR, other ICAR institutes, SAU’s and members of AAPMHE have participated in the programme. The programme was organised and coordinated by Dr. V. Sridhar, Division of Crop Protection.
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