PERFORMANCE REPORT 2015 DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE PERADENIYA SRI LANKA Published by Department of Agriculture Peradeniya Sri Lanka 2016 This report was compiled by the Progress Monitoring and Evaluation Unit of the Department of Agriculture and printed at the Agriculture Publication Unit, Peradeniya, Sri Lanka. All rights reserved. Except for quotations of short passages for purposes of criticism or review, no part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in retrieval systems, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without prior permission of the Director General of Agriculture. Such permission however will not be unreasonably withheld for using this publication for non-commercial purposes. The DOASL does not require any payment for the non-commercial use of its published work and hopes that this copyright declaration will not preclude the bona fide use of its research findings in agricultural research and development. ii Vision Achieve excellence in agriculture for national prosperity. Mission Development and dissemination of improved agricultural technology and providing related services to all stakeholders with emphasis on farmers to achieve an equitable and sustainable agricultural development to ensure food and nutritional security for the nation. iii Board of Directors - 2016 Dr. R.R.A. Wijekoon - Director General of Agriculture Mr. R.M. Nandasiri - Additional Director General (Development) Dr. G.A.W. Wijesekara - Additional Director General (Research) Ms. H.P.D.M. Sarathchandra - Additional Director General (Administration) Dr. W.M.W. Weerakoon - Director (Field Crop Research & Development) Dr. H.H.D. Fonseka - Director (Horticultural Crop Research & Development) Dr. P.W. Alahakoon - Director (Fruit Research & Development Institute) Dr. A.P. Bentota - Director (Rice Research & Development) Dr. S.H.S.A. De Silva - Director (Natural Resources Management) Dr. G.M.W. Chithral - Director (Seed Certification & Plant Protection) Mr. D.J.L. Sunil Govinna - Director (Seed & Planting Material Development) Mr. T.H.C.S. Perera - Director (Socio Economics & Planning) Mr. R.S. Wijesekara - Director (Extension & Training) Mr. W.A.G. Sisira Kumara - Director (Information & Communication) Mr. Janaka Dharmakeerthi - Director (Administration) Ms. R.A.D.T.N. Tennakoon - Director (Establishment) Mr. M.H.M.A. Bandara - Chief Engineer Mr. Parakrama Premarathna - Chief Accountant iv Chief Advisor R.M. Nandasiri Editors Dr. Priyantha Weerasinghe Dr. Keerthi Hettiarachchi Dr. R.S.K. Keerthisena M.A.K. Munasinghe P.C. Peiris K.N.S. Ranatunga Coordinators P.C. Peiris E.M.I.C.K. Werapitiya Technical Assistance & Page Setting E.M.I.C.K. Werapitiya Cover Page Design Audio Visual Centre Department of Agriculture v CONTENTS Foreword ................................................................................................................................................ vii Highlights - 2015 ................................................................................................................................... viii Abbreviations & Acronyms ................................................................................................................... xix 1.1 Field Crop Research & Development Institute (FCRDI) - MahaIlluppallama ................................... 1 1.1.1 Grain Legume and Oild Crop Research & Development Centre (GLORDC) - Angunakolapelessa ............................................................................................................................. 15 1.1.2 Regional Agricultural Research & Development Centre (RARDC) - Aralaganwila ................. 25 1.1.3 Regional Agricultural Research & Development Centre (RARDC) - Kilinochchi .................... 31 1.2 Horticultural Crop Research & Development Institute (HORDI) - Gannoruwa .............................. 38 1.2.1 Food Research Unit (FRU) - Gannoruwa .................................................................................. 52 1.2.2 Regional Agricultural Research & Development Centre (RARDC) - Bandarawela .................. 56 1.2.3 Regional Agricultural Research & Development Centre (RARDC) - Makandura .................... 64 1.2.4 Agriculture Research & Development Centre (ARDC) - Sita Eliya .......................................... 75 1.2.5 Agriculture Research Station (ARS) - Telijjawila ..................................................................... 81 1.2.6 Agriculture Research Station (ARS) - Girandurukotte .............................................................. 85 1.3 Fruit Research & Development Institute (FRDI) - Horana .............................................................. 88 1.3.1 Fruit Crop Research and Development Station (FCRDS) - Gannoruwa .................................. 107 1.3.2 Plant Virus Indexing Centre (PVIC) – Homagama .................................................................. 115 1.4 Rice Research & Development Institute (RRDI) - Batalagoda ...................................................... 124 1.4.1 Regional Rice Research & Development Centre (RRRDC) – Bombuwala ............................. 150 1.5 Natural Resources Management Center (NRMC) - Peradeniya ..................................................... 158 2.1. Seed Certification & Plant Protection Centre (SCPPC) - Gannoruwa .......................................... 172 2.1.1 Seed Certification Service (SCS) - Gannoruwa ....................................................................... 177 2.1.2 Plant Protection Service (PPS) - Gannoruwa ........................................................................... 188 2.1.3 Office of the Registrar of Pesticides (ROP) - Peradeniya ........................................................ 194 2.1.4 Plant Genetic Resources Centre (PGRC) - Gannoruwa ........................................................... 218 2.1.5 National Plant Quarantine Service (NPQS) - Katunayake ....................................................... 228 2.2 Seed & Planting Material Development Centre (SPMDC) - Peradeniya ....................................... 240 2.3 Socio Economics & Planning Centre (SEPC) - Peradeniya ........................................................... 253 3.1. Extension & Training Centre (ETC) - Peradeniya ........................................................................ 260 3.2 Information & Communication Centre (ICC) - Peradeniya ........................................................... 296 4.1 Administration Division - Peradeniya ............................................................................................ 307 4.2 Engineering Division - Peradeniya ................................................................................................. 313 4.2.1 Farm Mechanization Research Centre (FMRC) - MahaIlluppallama ...................................... 318 4.3 Finance Division - Peradeniya ........................................................................................................ 322 4.4 Progress Monitoring & Evaluation Unit (PMEU) - Peradeniya ..................................................... 324 5. Weather Report ................................................................................................................................ 334 6. Publications & Presentations ............................................................................................................ 347 7. Senior Staff ....................................................................................................................................... 364 8. Technical Staff Qualifications .......................................................................................................... 385 9. Staff Position .................................................................................................................................... 386 vi FOREWORD With the challenges faced by the agricultural sector at local as well as global levels, with respect to changes in climate, economy and trade, the Department of Agriculture has successfully taken another step forward towards the vision to achieve excellence in agriculture during the year 2015. Being the major stakeholder responsible for development of agriculture in the country, the Department has currently made the pathway towards achieving self-sufficiency in rice, maize and mung bean. During 2015, 11 new crop varieties have been developed and released by the Department of Agriculture in order to overcome the barriers faced by the conventional varieties in improving productivity. Risk of contamination of the environment through agrochemicals affecting the health of humans is another challenge faced in increasing productivity of crops. Therefore few chemicals were banned during the year 2015. We are proud to inform that seed production farms of the Department of Agriculture have continued to earn profit during last few years. A healthy nation is the key for prosperity of a country. Promotion of use of organic fertilizer to replace inorganic chemicals and use of integrated pest and disease control techniques were continued during the year aiming production of chemical free agricultural produce for the nation within a sustainable environment. In addition, use of local food is being promoted through „Hela Bojun Alewi Piyasa‟ and sales outlets for local food being opened island wide. Lack of human resources at middle level had hampered progress of extension and infrastructure development activities. To fulfill the long felt requirement of technical staff, 491 Technological Assistants were recruited to the Department of Agriculture. I appreciate the effects of all officers of the Department for their united endeavor in achieving the success contained in this publication. Finally, I wish to express my gratitude to the editors and the staff of the Progress Monitoring & Evaluation Unit for their immaculate effort to complete this publication within the stipulated period. vii HIGHLIGHTS – 2015 New crop varieties released Rice At 311 – Ambalantota Nirogi  Low glycemic indexed, red „Basmathie‟ type rice variety maturing in three months.  Cooked rice has a pleasant aroma.  Possess a higher head grain percentage compared to other released „Basmathie‟ type rice varieties.  Resistant to lodging and moderately resistant to rice leaf blast disease, brown plant hopper and rice gall midge.  Average yield is about 5t/ha. Groundnut ANKG2 - Lanka Jumbo  Large seeded, short maturity duration (3½ months) variety  Weight of hundred seeds is 75-78 g.  Average yield is about 2.5 t/ha. viii Chili MICH-HY-01  The first local hybrid Chilli variety recommended by the Department of Agriculture.  Potential yield is 32 t/ha and average yield is more than 25 t/ha.  Moderately resistant to Chilli leaf curl complex.  Pod length is 10-13 cm and width is around 1.58 mm.  More suitable for green Chilli production but could also be used for dry Chilli production. Capsicum HCA-01 (Hybrid)  The first local hybrid Capsicum variety recommended by the Department of Agriculture.  Average yield is 21 t/ha.  Pods are light green in colour with a shiny appearance and having a high pungency.  Average pod weight is around 37-41 g and pod length is around 12 cm. ix Bitter gourd HORDI M 15 – Niroga  The first local hybrid Bitter gourd variety recommended by the Department of Agriculture.  Average yield is 15-20 t/ha and fruits are having a shiny appearance.  Average fruit weight is around 226 g and fruit length is around 26 cm. Spine gourd (Thumba) ANKTHF 1 - Chandu  The first local hybrid „Thumba‟ variety recommended by the Department of Agriculture.  Female plant is named as ANKTHF- 1 (Chandu) and male plants are named as ANKTHM- 1 (Vishma).  Average yield is about 10-15 t/ha and first harvest could be obtained 36-40 days after planting. A yield of 5-9 kg could be obtained from a single vine.  Average fruit weight is around 42 g and fruit length is around 7.7 cm.  Could be easily propagated through cuttings. x