GUNTUR: In a bid to curb the menace of fake seeds as the cultivation of various Kharif crops is in full swing, the Palnadu district horticulture department officials have stepped up the vigil on nurseries. The officials are inspecting as many as 320 government-approved plant nurseries in the district, and checking all records whether the nurseries are following the required regulations as per the Andhra Pradesh Registration of Horticulture Nurseries (Regulation) Act, 2010.
According to an official report, the sales of seeds and fertilizers have gained pace over the past two months. With this, the menace of fake seeds, which was rampant last year, has brought the administration on its toes. Fake and poor-quality seeds in the market are becoming a headache for farmers too. As per the officials, cultivation of various horticulture crops is expected to be done in over 2.7 lakh hectares of land in the district. The majority of the farmers this year are growing mirchi on more than 80,000 hectares of land.
“Many dealers are cashing the fear of the farmers and deceiving them with seeds termed as ‘pest resistant seeds’, tricking them to buy at high prices. Many dealers in the district are buying some cheap quality seeds in bulk from companies and are selling them to the local farmers at high prices,” the officials maintained.
“We are conducting meetings with various nursery owners and instructing them to sell only pre-tested seeds to farmers. Awareness campaigns are being conducted to educate the farmers to buy quality seeds only from local RBK centres. We are also educating the farmers to get a receipt from the vendors which contains the details of the dealer, along with other details like the lot number of the seeds and saplings purchased, so that they are able to report to the authorities if they face any losses due to fake seeds,” the officials observed.
What is AP Horticulture Nurseries Act?
Andhra Pradesh Registration of Horticulture Nurseries (Regulation) Act, 2010, is an Act to provide for the registration of horticulture nurseries in Andhra Pradesh and for the matters connected therewith and incidental thereto. The Act mentions 12 mandatory rules that all nurseries should follow without fail, including the details of the dealers, medicines, and fertilizers used in the culture of saplings.