Gujarat presents diverse climatic conditions with a major part exhibiting low rainfall
( Identification of a new lac host, Prosopis juliflora, available in abundance throughout the state is a very significant finding under this initiative. Very good lac crop yield (yield ratio of output/ input with up to 21) was demonstrated on this host. The production technologies for this host for winter kusmi lac was demonstrated at Bhavnagar, Junagadh, Rajkot, Bhachau (Kuchchh) and Basan. A package of practices was also developed for winter kusmi lac crop on this host. F. semialata was successfully demonstrated as suitable host, for providing the summer kusmi broodlac, under irrigated condition (output/input yield ratio ~10).
A demonstration of winter lac production was also given in the farmers’ field (Tajpur, Banaskantha) on 1,000 big trees of ber (Gola). The 2 000 kg kusmi broodlac brought from Ranchi, Jharkhand and Bankhedi, Madhya Pradesh was inoculated @ 2 kg/ tree in July 2008. A total 220 q broodlac was harvested. Since, there is no market of broodlac, 70 q of sticklac worth Rs 4.9 lakh was prepared from the harvested crop. Two small scale processing units (100 kg/day) were installed at Forest Research Centres at Basan and Piplej for demonstration of conversion of sticklac to seedlac. Based on the success of this project, a new project has been sanctioned by the Gujarat Forest Research Institute with a budget allocation of about Rs 1.742 million for establishment of two kusmi broodlac farms with farmer-participatory approach for promotion of lac cultivation in traditional and non-traditional areas of Gujarat
(Source: email: iinrg@ilri.ernet.in )
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