R & D Farm

The Improvement of agricultural production technology, is possible by research and development. This has to be an ongoing exercise. The research can be fundamental or applied. This Foundation is engaged only in applied research with special emphasis on the suitability of adopting promising research findings to the local conditions.

The Aspee Agricultural Research and Development Foundation established an R & D Farm at Village Met in Thane district on land of about 43 acres gifted by the late Mr. L.M. Patel.

The R & D farm is well laid out with uniform plots of half an acre and is also served with the irrigation facility through two wells. An arrangement for lift irrigation on river Tansa is also available.

The farm provides essential equipments of Meteorological observatory. It is also backedup by a good laboratory with essential equipments. To assist the researchers a well stacked library is provided.

The R & D Farm has been recognised by Konkan Krishi Vidyapeeth, Dapoli, for carrying out trials by their Post Graduate students under the supervision of their expert guides. These students carry out their research work in the four disciplines i.e. Agronomy, Agricultural Entomology, Horticulture and Plant Pathology.

The Foundation has also signed Memorandum of Understanding with Konkan Krishi Vidyapeeth, Dapoli, for co-operation an.sl collaborati.Qn in the field of Agricultural Research and Extension.

The R & D Farm has a community hall, as well as hostel facility.

The R & D Farm is primarily engaged in conducting the following, types of trials :

  • Varietal trials in which various varieties are tried out to find out the most suitable variety for the area.
  • Trials with fertilizers with various doses and time of application to find out the optimum dose and time of application for a particular crop.
  • Trials with pesticides to find out the effective plant protection measure for a particular disease/insect problem on a crop
  • Trials regarding cultural practices to find out the optimum spacing, method of planting or irrigation method or timing for a particular crop.
  • Trials to improve cost-benefit ratio by reducing the input cost and increasing the returns.
  • Trials with new and non traditional crops to find its suitability for the local area.
  • Not only such trials but also other trials carried out on the farm by the foundation staff acts as demonstration plots for the farmers of nearby villages and thus it has lot of extension value.
The farmers of the nearby villages look upon the R & D farm as a model farm to obtain lot of information which they would like to try out on their own farm.

Since 1976-77, till date, about 69 trials were laid out in the Kharif season and 103 trials in the Rabi/Summer season which have also served as demonstrations.

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