ICAR-IIHR innovations uplift the farming community

Farmers can avail of a free-of-cost diagnosis of crop diseases at the newly inaugurated plant health clinic in the ICAR-Indian Institute of Horticultural Research (IIHR) in Hesaraghatta in the northwestern outskirts of
Bengaluru. 

Supported by the Rashtriya Krishi Vikas Yojana (RKVY), the clinic was inaugurated on Wednesday by Dr Himanshu Pathak, secretary, the Department of Agricultural Research and Education (DARE), and Director-General of the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) during his visit to the IIHR campus. About eight facilities established at a total cost of over Rs 10.86 crore were inaugurated. 

Nurturing 'kamalam'

Aiming to boost local production and export of kamalam (dragon fruit), the Institute inaugurated a Centre of Excellence for kamalam, which was set up at a cost of Rs 536.72 lakh. The centre will support the production of a high-performance variety of fruit that requires specific conditions, including layered red soil and a mean temperature below 40 degrees Celsius. One of the farmers, who had at least 45 varieties of the fruit and various derived items on display, mentioned this. SD Babu Siddakumar, president of Karnataka Exotic Fruit Farmers’ Association (KEFA), noted that Karnataka produces at least 10,000 tons of the fruit every year but does not sell even one per cent of the total production.

Equipment to protect seeds

The HAL-ICAR IIHR seed production centre has new equipment, colour sorter and drying machines, to help sort seeds. The sorter can process nearly two tonnes of seeds per hour, automating the removal of discoloured and broken seeds that may not germinate.

Subsequently, the coating machine applies a polymer layer to
protect them.

Various facilities were inaugurated on Wednesday. (R) A mixer and filling unit of the mechanised mushroom spawn production unit.

The incubation unit at the Centre for Spawn Incubation and Capacity Development, supported by RKVY, can produce nearly 180 kilograms of mushroom spawn per batch.

This first-of-its-kind centre was established exclusively for trainees to experiment with the facility and create self-sustaining entrepreneurship opportunities.

Prof Sanjay Kumar Singh, Director, ICAR-IIHR; Dr V B Patel, ADG, fruit and plantation crops, ICAR; Dr Deepaja, Joint Director of Agriculture, Government of Karnataka; and V S Srinivas, Executive Director (FMD), HAL, were among those present.