Seed balls dropping start in a week across Andhra Pradesh

Visakhapatnam: The forest department is preparing to begin seed ball dropping across the city and north coastal Andhra by the end of this month to boost green cover across the state.Officials said the exercise will commence after one or two spells of heavy rain.

Around 50 lakh seed balls have been readied for drone-based dispersal in north AP, including about six lakh in Visakhapatnam city.Overall, the state plans to disperse 2.5 crore seed balls. The seed balls have been prepared and packed in gunny bags. Following good rains in ASR Raju district, the department has already begun manual planting of saplings. Chief Conservator of Forests Indukuri Kasi Viswanatha Raju said plantations are under way in Sileru, Chintapalli and Paderu areas with deployed manpower.North Andhra districts — Visakhapatnam, ASR, Anakapalli, Vizianagaram, Parvathipuram Manyam and Srikakulam — account for 16,339 sq km of the state’s total forest area of 35,425 sq km. Alluri Sitarama Raju district has the highest forest cover in the region, with about 7,120 sq km, exceeding 70% of its geographical area.Seed balls are made using 70% cow dung and 30% clay, with three seeds embedded in each before being shaped and dried for dispersal.

In Visakhapatnam, the department aims to raise green cover to 50%. About six lakh seed balls will be dropped using drones over Seetakonda near the zoo park and other reserve forest and hill areas. The city’s current green cover is around 35%, including over 40,000 acres of reserve forest.The department also plans to plant saplings across more than 3,000 acres in north Andhra. In addition, about 1.5 crore plants — including casuarina, eucalyptus, teak, fruit-bearing and flowering species — have been prepared for plantations in urban colonies, rural areas and farmlands.