Chandigarh, July 06: Haryana government has decide to explore the possibility of setting up of a laboratory for certification of fruits and vegetables cultivated in organic farms. Principal secretary agriculture K S Bhoria said cultivation of organic fruits and vegetables should be encouraged keeping in mind the vast market for it in the national capital.

The use of bio-fertilisers, green manure and worm based compost should be popularised to reduce the use of chemical fertilisers, he said. Integrated pest management should be implemented to reduce the use of pesticides, he said.

He stressed the need for adopting crop diversification programme in a systematic manner and said that the target area fixed for cultivation of alternate crops in the action plan for kharif-2003 should be achieved. Bureau Report