To promote the cultivation of maize among the farmers, the Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare department organized field day (Khet Diwas) on Wednesday in Gill village under Jalandhar West block.More than 100 farmers from various villages participated in the filed day camp.Addressing the gathering, Chief Agriculture Officer Dr Nazar Singh apprised the farmers about the department’s crop diversification program and told that department had set up 120 cluster maize demonstrations on 10-hectare on the lands of the farmers under the supervision of experts. He said that an amount of Rs 5000 per hectare was spent under the program and maize seeds, zinc, herbicides, insecticides, labour etc were given for these maize cluster demonstrations.Dr Singh also exhorted them to sow maize as it is short-term crop and helps to increase the groundwater level in the state. He asked them to adopt the crop wholeheartedly and it can maximize their profits.The Chief Agriculture Officer also detailed about the In-Situ management for crop residue scheme to the farmers and said subsidy is being given to farmers on farm machinery happy seeders, paddy straw chopper, multure, hydraulic reversible MB Plant, zero till drill, super SMS rotary slasher/shrub cutter used for managing paddy straw so that all the farmers can join government’s initiative to curb the stubble burning which pollutes our environment.He said that the objective behind providing these types of equipment is to decompose the stubble in the field rather than burning as it would save the environment and improve the health of the soil.Dr Singh also added that due to the burning of paddy straw several major nutrients and other micro-nutrients of soil were destroyed adding that the burning of paddy straw produces several poisonous gases which harm human health.Prominent Among present on the occasion included Agriculture officer Dr Naresh Gulati, Dr Arun Kohli, Dr Dilbagh Singh Sohal, Agriculture Development Officers Dr Surjit Singh, Dr Danish Kumar, Dr, Karan Singh Chib and Dr Baljinder Sohal and others.