Training on ‘Silviculture and Forestry’ for Personnel of Eco Task Force –Eco Battalions of Territorial Army of India
Akash Gyan Vatika, Dehradun (22 November, 2019). One week training on ‘Silviculture and Forestry’ for the Personnel of Ecological Battalions of Territorial Army was organized by the Silviculture and Forest Management division of Forest Research Institute at Dehradun from 18th to 22nd November 2019. This course is a joint venture of FRI, Dehradun and 127 Infantry Bn. Ecological (TA) Garhwal Rifles, Dehradun and in this training programme about 23 personnel including Officers, JCO,s and Jawans from 08 Eco Battalions of Territorial Army from many regions the country e.g. Delhi, Rajasthan, Shimla, Samba (Jammu), Prayagraj, Maharashtra and Uttarakhand participated.
During the inaugural session of the training course, Shri Arun Singh Rawat – Director FRI said that Eco battalions of Territorial Army are doing commendable work on afforestation of degraded, disturbed and difficult sites and for cleaning and rejuvenation of Ganga river and this training will provide scientific inputs on silvicultural aspects like seed collection, quality evaluation, nursery raising and plantation establishment and disease/pest management, phytoremediation. He said that FRI can have the experimental trials of biofertilizers, biopesticides, etc. in the plantation of various species raised by the Eco Task Force. Col Vaidya Commanding Officer 127 ETF Garhwal briefed about the plantation projects being carried out by the unit which also address the issue of climate change. Mrs. Arti Chaudhary Head Silviculture and Forest Management division welcomed the participants and said that during this course apart from lectures, visits to nursery, laboratories and experimental sites were also conducted. Dr. Manisha Thapliyal, Course Coordinator gave a detailed report of the course and told that more emphasis was given to practical exposure in seed handling, nursery establishment & management and plantation activities. The training module covered the techniques of seed dormancy pretreatments, seed storage, clonal propagation of bamboo, propagation of medicinal plants, nursery techniques of important tree species of Rajasthan, Uttarakhand, HP, Maharshtra and J&K. The training lectures also included soil fertility management in nursery and plantations, afforestation of difficult sites, restoration activities in deserts, plantation techniques in mined out areas and management of fungal and insect-pest diseases in nursery & plantations, visit to common facility centre for bamboo processing and treatment, seed processing unit, botanical garden, bambusetum, etc. The participants also visited various museums of FRI, to gain knowledge on history of forestry/silviculture and other sciences. All the participants gave very positive feedback about the training and said that upon attending the course they have better understanding and gained knowledge about forestry species, their importance and scientific inputs in nursery and plantation techniques.
