Close to 200 students pursuing B. Sc Agriculture at Maris Stella College in Vijayawada headed to a stretch of land behind their classrooms that has been turned into a rice field, on Tuesday (October 31).
Equipped with sickles, with their dupattas wrapped around their heads, they harvested the ‘chitti muthyalu’ and ‘Kuji Patalia’ varieties of rice cultivated on the vacant land available on the college premises.
The second and third year students cultivated the crop in June this year to gain hands-on experience.
‘Chitti Muthyalu’ is an extremely fine and short grain rice while Kuji Patalia, a non-hybrid desi rice, is a thin, fat-free and sodium-free rice variety, said P. Lakshmana Swamy, Head of the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development. Informing that the rice varieties were grown in fully organic method, he said 30-40 quintals of ‘Chitti Muthyalu’ can be grown in four months’ time. He said right from the stage of sowing, the students displayed a keen interest in growing the crop. After cutting the crop that filled 10 bags, the girls arranged them in stacks and handed it over to farmers from Penamaluru and Thotlavalluru mandals in Krishna district.
