Stop using too much fertiliser, Niranjan tells ryots

At a review with officials, the Minister said that on an average, 78.4 kg of fertiliser is being used per acre in the world.

HYDERABAD: Stating that the use of fertilisers is higher in Telangana than the national average, Agriculture Minister Singireddy Niranjan Reddy, on Monday, advised the farmers to reduce the use of fertilisers.

At a review with officials, the Minister said that on an average, 78.4 kg of fertiliser is being used per acre in the world. In India, this average is 51.2 kg. However, a Telangana farmer uses a shockingly high 173 kg of fertiliser per acre! “The excessive use of fertilisers will result in increase of pests and also spoil the health of the soil,” the Minister said.

Niranjan Reddy explained that going by recent soil test reports conducted by the Agriculture Department, agricultural soil in Telangana contained potash and phosphorous in high levels, while nitrogen was less. The Minister cautioned farmers that use of excessive quantities of fertilisers would render food grain poisonous.  

He said that the Central government had allotted 22.3 lakh tonnes of fertilisers to the State for Vanakalam and delivered 16.15 lakh tonnes so far. He said that required quantities of fertilisers were available in the State, and appealed to farmers not to believe in false reports about shortage.

He said that so far, crops were raised in 1.17 crore acres in the State as against 79.94 lakh acres on the same day last year in Kharif (Vanakalam) season.

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