Group Meeting of AICRP At TNAU
H.P. Singh, Deputy Director General (Horticulture and Extension), Indian Council of Agricultural Research, New Delhi, speaking at Tamil Nadu Agricultural University in Coimbatore recently. The All India Co-ordinated Research Project (AICRP) on vegetable crops is no more interested only in increasing the yield but marketing of newly-developed varieties, H.P. Singh, Deputy Director General (Horticulture and Extension), Indian Council of Agricultural Research, said here on Thursday.
Inaugurating a group meeting of AICRP at the Tamil Nadu Agricultural University, Mr. Singh called for scientists working on the project to take up research on deciding the quality criteria for marketing new varieties. He also urged them to analyse their performance under different situations caused by temperature, sunshine hours, soil temperature, etc., to enable them develop suitable models.
“The research centres of the AICRP should not only function as testing centres, but should also try to develop new varieties and technologies. Extended research in vegetable crops has enabled in developing new varieties and technologies. For instance, with respect to grapes which are a temperate crop the management system has been altered by research to make it a tropical crop,” Mr. Singh said. He also gave examples of potato, cauliflower and cabbage with respect to the change in management system altered by research.
He urged the scientists to keep in mind climate change, increase in temperature, pest and disease problems, population increase and water shortage while undertaking research SP. Santhana Krishnan, acting Vice-Chancellor, said the precision farming programme for vegetables held at Dharmapuri was a success. “Hi-tech technology and good marketing practices were demonstrated to the farmers. The State Government has given funds to implement the same programme in more districts”. He urged scientists to take up more research on protected cultivation of vegetables to enhance the profits for vegetable farmers. Mathura Rai, Director, Indian Institute of Vegetable Research, Varanasi, and D. Veeraragavathatham, Dean, Horticulture, TNAU, spoke.
