• RNRNewsletter

A bimonthly publication of the Ministry of Agriculture & Forests

Vol. VIII Issue No. VI www.moaf.gov.bt 16-31 May 2020

INSIDE Recent highlights of

the Samdrup Jongkhar agriculture initiatives

Page 3

The Ministry's Week

Page 6

Yusi-prune1: A choice of purple for plum growers ARDC Yusipang

Cont...on Pg 2

The Horticulture program of ARDC, Yusipang proposed the release of prune-plum Stanley to Variety Release Committee, MoAF.

The VRC meeting held on 28th – 29th May, 2020 endorsed the variety to be released as Yusi-prune 1 and will be put up to the seed board meeting which will be commencing soon. Stanley (Prunus domestica) was

introduced in the fruit germplasm of ARDC, Yusipang in 1994. It is a deep purple, oval shaped, freestone European plum variety cherished for its sweet and juicy taste. Despite its satisfactory performance in the centre, the variety was never promoted in farmers’ field. However, the variety somehow found its way into backyards and homesteads for both consumption and ornamental purposes. With its rising

popularity and notable potential to enhance income generation for growers, the Horticulture program realized the need to release this plum variety and intensify its production. Yusi-prune1 is one of the most popular prune-plums; prune-plums are those plums which are grown principally for drying and are mostly the European varieties. It is a cold hardy, late

16-31 May 20202 RNRNEWSLETTERA bimonthly publication of the Ministry of Agriculture & Forests

Cont...from Pg 1

maturing, easy to grow and a versatile variety. This variety is self-pollinating and also acts as a great pollinizer for other plum varieties. Like all plum varieties, Yusi-prune1 is also adapted to a wide range of climatic conditions and performs optimally in higher altitudes (>1700masl) with more than 1000 chill hours.

This variety ripens in mid-September to October when all the other plum varieties are out of season.

Furthermore, unlike the Japanese plums which are chiefly for fresh consumption, Yusi-prune1 can be

consumed fresh, dried, canned, preserved or processed into jam, jelly, and candy.

Yusi-prune1 contains copious amounts of natural phenolic phytochemicals, such as flavonoids, phenolic acids, anthocyanins, and other phenolics, which may function as

effective natural antioxidants in our daily diet.

Yusi-prune1 will be promoted among growers with the objective of contributing towards fruit crop diversification for income generation and, achieving food and nutrition security.

16-31 May 2020 3RNRNEWSLETTERA bimonthly publication of the Ministry of Agriculture & Forests

Recent highlights of the Samdrup Jongkhar agriculture initiatives

ARDC Wengkhar

With an increasing number of urban populations in Samdrup Jongkhar taking up backyard garden, a de-mand for Farm Yard Manure (FYM) has doubled currently.

In order to cater their need and diversify the source of income for our farmers, three Lead Farmers in Orong and Dewathang were supported with the construction of compost shed which has a provision for cow urine harvesting. Further, another more than 30 farmers were also trained in compost making.

The project was supported by ARDC Wengkhar and CARLEP, Ministry of Agriculture and Forests.

Cont...on Pg 2

16-31 May 20204 RNRNEWSLETTERA bimonthly publication of the Ministry of Agriculture & Forests

Instead of leaving wetland fallow after the paddy is harvested, Menchari community in Orong Gewog has cultivated bulb onion in January, 2020.

Today, they have harvested about 400 kilograms and the group is planning to grow more from the upcom-ing season. .

ARDC Wengkhar and Dzongkhag Agriculture Sector had provided the technical support and assistance.

Cont...from Pg 3

16-31 May 2020 5RNRNEWSLETTERA bimonthly publication of the Ministry of Agriculture & Forests

Please submit your articles for RNR-Newsletter at communication@moaf.gov.bt

Chilli HARVESTINGHarvesting of chili depends on the purpose of chili.

Picking of green chilies starts from 65-80 days after transplanting and the interval for 1 harvest to another harvest of green chilies can be done within 10 days interval.

The hybrid chili can be harvested about 2 to 3 months and the open varieties can be harvested 1 to 2 months.

The red chili can be harvested 105 days after transplanting with 15 days of interval from 1 harvest to another harvest.

The chili is harvested manually by picking fruits along with the stalk.

JOKESThe Chicken Cannon

Scientists at NASA built a special cannon to launch standard 6-pound, whole dead chickens at the windshields of airliners, military jets and the space shuttle, all traveling at maximum velocity. The idea was to simulate the frequent incidents of collisions with airborne fowl to test the strength of the windshields.

Engineers working on the Bullet Train project heard about the cannon and were eager to test it on the windshields of their new high speed trains. Arrangements were made, and a cannon was sent to the Bullet Train engineers.

The engineers were excited to see the results of years of hard work and planning. They set up the experiment and even invited several government officials to attend that had championed the funding of this project. They had a grand ceremony with a countdown. The speedy bullet train roared down the test track at over 200 mph and the engineers fired the chicken cannon.

After the canon was fired, the engineers stood in shock as they viewed in horror at the damage. The shatterproof glass was smashed to smithereens, there was a huge hole in the control console, the driver’s seat had the head rest blown off, and the chicken embedded into the back wall of the train engine’s cabin.

Luckily this was an unmanned test, so no one was hurt except for the pride of the engineers. It was as if they were little boys who broke their prize Christmas present. That chicken trashed their modern marvel.

Immediately the engineers began assessing the damages, took numerous photos and measurements and sent a full report, along with their pages of scientific designs to engineers at NASA. The desperate engineers were totally dumbfounded and asked for an explanation of what could have possibly gone wrong? Their email to the head engineer at NASA said, “Please help us understand how to resolve this issue. We followed all standard protocols and double checked every safety precaution prior to the test with the chicken cannon!”

In just a few minutes, the Bullet Train engineers were shocked by the rapid response. The head engineer at NASA responded with just one short line in bold, all capital letters:

“DEFROST THE CHICKEN FIRST!”

-Panhandle Ag e-News

16-31 May 20206 RNRNEWSLETTERA bimonthly publication of the Ministry of Agriculture & Forests

Laya receives improved yak breeds

Published by:Information and Communication Technology Division (ICTD)Ministry of Agriculture and Forests Post Box: 1095, Thimphu-BhutanTel. (PABX): 02-323765/321142Fax: 02-324520Email: ictd@moaf.gov.btWebsite: www.moaf.gov.bt

NBC launched book on Traditional Paddy Varieties

A hybrid maize variety to be released so

The Ministry's week

Coinciding with the International Biodiversity Day on 22 May 2020, the National Biodiversity Center (NBC) released a new publication on ‘Characterization Catalogue and Pictorial Varieties Descriptions on Traditional Paddy Varieties (oryzasativa) Conserved in the National Crop Genebank'.

NBC has carried out exploration and collection of traditional crop

varieties from different locations within the country since 2005 to conserve crop germplasm for food and nutritional security.

This publication makes phenotypic data available to strengthen information on traditional rice varieties in the country and facilitate the utilisation of germplasm conserved among others.

Laya received two breeding bulls and a female yak from Nucleus Yak Farm at Tang to improve yak breed and revive declining yak herding practices in the gewog.

The National Highland Research and Development Centre and Research and Extension Division under the Department of Livestock handed over the yaks to gewog’s Mangmi and Assistant Dzongkhag Livestock Officer, Gasa on May 28.

A new hybrid maize variety, Wengkhar Hybrid Maize 1 has been approved by the Variety Release Committee under the Ministry to be released soon.

According to the Agriculture Research and Development Centre (ARDC)-Wengkhar, the new variety is a heat tolerant, medium height and high yielding single cross hybrid with yellow dent kernel and yield potential of

1.8 to 2 t per acre.

As a heat tolerant variety, Wengkhar HM 1 is in line with the changing climate conditions particularly increasing temperature. With medium height, it also has some tolerance to lodging. Another advantage of the variety is the green character of stalks during harvest for the effective utilisation of crop residues.

There are around 60 yak herders in Laya at present.

According to the centre, this is the first time the centre is distributing yaks to highland communities following their demand for breeding bulls.

The centre will soon provide three breeding bulls to the people of Chhoekhor Toed in Bumthang and seven bulls to Lunana for a similar purpose.