Exotic fruits, vegetables on display at horticultural expo

 The exhibition organised as part of a conference, organised by the ICAR, Central Horticultural Experiment Station in Chettalli and Society for Horticultural Development will conclude on Monday.

Fruits like oranges from Kodagu, Italian lemon, star fruit, ‘chakotha,’ papaya, ‘Lakshmana Phala,’ ‘Rangapura Nimbe,’ over 220 varieties mangoes like ‘Appemidi,’ ‘Badami,’ Arka Udaya and vegetables like raddish, brinjal, bitter gourd, palak, tomato, pumpkin, cucumber, ‘black harive,’ okra, snake gourd and others were on display.

There are 41 stalls at the venue. A wide range of mangoes, including those grown in the district and from other parts of the state and foreign countries, were on display. A stall by Central Horticultural Experiment Station, Hirehalli, has displayed varieties of jackfruit for tasting as well.

The cardamom and black pepper vines developed by Appangala Spices Research Station was another attraction for the farmers. The officials said that bush pepper can be cultivated on the terrace of the house as well.

The Forest department had kept the saplings of silver oak, wild jackfruit, ‘balanji,’ bamboo, ‘holemathi’ and ‘shivani’ for display and sale. In addition, nutrients developed by the research centres for vegetables and flowers were on display. Machineries like sprinkler, pepper separating machine, tree cutter, homemade juice attracted the onlookers.

Indian Horticultural Research Centre director Dr M R Dinesh told DH that there has been decline in the use of fruits in the recent past. India was producing 170 million tonne fruits annually in the past. This has increased to 284 million tonne in the last three years. However, the farmers do not have knowledge on marketing tactic. The growers should know the climatic condition in their area and then select the fruits for cultivation.

“The research centre has given priority to locally available mangoes. Appemidi trees are felled in Shivamogga, Sagar and Theerthahalli regions. We are making a study on the medicinal values of the produce. There has been discussion on introducing Appemidi in the modern market as well,” he explained.

Shyamala Shastri of Prakrithi Food Products said, “A few individuals spoke lightly when I experimented on preparing juice from cashew apple. However, now the juice is a success and is being supplied to different parts of the state.”