X Group Discussion of ICAR-AICRP on Fruits organised

The ICAR-All India Coordinated Research Project on Fruits conducted its X Group Discussion virtually from 28th February – 3rd March 2023. The event was inaugurated by Dr. Anand Kumar Singh, Deputy Director General (Hort. Sci.), in the august presence of Dr. V. B. Patel, Asst. Director General (F & PC), Dr. Sudhakar Pandey, Asst. Director General (FVS & MP), Prof. (Dr.)  Sanjay Kumar Singh, Director, ICAR-IIHR, Dr. Prakash Patil, Project Coordinator (Fruits) Acting, Dr. Dilip Ghosh, Director, ICAR-CCRI, Dr. R. Selvarajan, Director, ICAR-NRCB,  Dr. Kaushik Banerjee, Director, ICAR-NRCG, Dr. Bikash Das, Director, ICAR-NRCL, Dr. T. Damodaran, Director, ICAR-CISH, Dr. Jagadesh Rane, Director, ICAR-CIAH, ICAR special invitees - Dr. M. R. Dinesh, former Director, ICAR-IIHR, and Dr. P. Padmanabhan, former Director (Acting), ICAR-NRCB.

In his inaugural address, the Chief Guest, Dr. Anand Kumar Singh, DDG (Hort. Sci.), ICAR alluded  whether increase in production and  productivity in horticulture is vis a vis the increased cost of production and safety of produce.  He further emphasised on reorientation of programmes for gender inclusiveness, and issues like deterioration of soil health and citrus decline. He also added that safety standards need to be met for both domestic and international markets.

During the inaugural session, Dr. Prakash Patil, Project Coordinator (Fruits), presented the achievements of the project for the period of the report (2021-2022). The guest of honour, Dr. V. B. Patel, praised the excellent work of the project and emphasized the importance of timely registration of germplasm and increasing publications. He suggested disseminating the technology through field days during the peak crop season. Dr. Sudhakar Pandey, the other guest of honour, drew attention to the wilt disease complex in fruit crops. In his presidential remarks, Prof. (Dr.) Sanjay Kumar Singh called for more support in terms of finance and human resources for the maintenance of germplasm under National Active Germplasm Sites. He also prioritized the production of clean planting materials and strict plant quarantine to control soil-borne problems.

In the four-day deliberations, six crop production technologies and five crop protection technologies recommended. Also planned two new MLTs in crop improvement, three in crop production and Artificial Intelligence powered decision support system in banana for leaf spot disease. The event was attended by nearly 180 delegates from 49 participating centres across the country, including farmers from southern states. The event was organised by Dr. Prakash Patil, Project Coordinator (Fruits) Acting with the support of Dr. S. Priya Devi, Principal Scientist and Dr. Sridhar Gutam, Senior Scientist and the staff of the Project Coordinating Unit.

(Source: Project Coordinator (Fruits), ICAR-AICRP on Fruits, ICAR-IIHR, Bengaluru, Karnataka)