18th Parthenium Awareness week conducted by KVK Mokokchung

Mokokchung, 22 August (MTNews): To raise awareness among farmers about the menace of Parthenium (Parthenium hysterophorus), commonly known as Congress grass, carrot grass, or gajar ghas, an alien invasive weed that has now gained national importance, KVK Mokokchung observed the 18th Parthenium Awareness Week from August 16th to 22nd.

Assistant Chief Technical Officers (ACTOs) Imtisenla (Agronomy) and Imtilemla (Soil Conservation) conducted programs at Kinunger and Longjang villages on the 17th and 22nd, respectively.

The weed was first reported in India during the 1950s. It is an annual herbaceous plant that can reach a height of around 5 to 7 feet and primarily spreads through seeds. Parthenium, being a prolific seed producer (5,000-25,000 seeds/plant), has seeds that are easily transported by wind, water, and human activities due to their lightweight nature. Consequently, it has spread throughout the country, affecting more than 35 million hectares of both cropped and non-cropped areas.

During the awareness program, farmers reported the prevalence of the Parthenium weed in the area. Prior to the program, farmers were unaware of the health-related problems it can cause for humans and animals, as well as the negative impact on the environment, as stated in a press release from KVK Mokokchung.

Therefore, farmers were educated on how to identify this weed by distributing handouts and encouraged to make their fields free from Parthenium by adopting methods such as uprooting the weed before it flowers and composting the uprooted biomass. To support this effort, participating farmers were provided with waste decomposer to create compost from weed biomass as part of a management technology.

The farmers were also informed about the “Swachh Bharat Abhiyan” initiative, which aims to ensure that KVKs, institutes, and universities become Parthenium-free as soon as possible through sanitation programs.