XIII Group Discussion of ICAR-AICRP on Fruits Organized

9 - 12 February 2026, Uttarakhand

The XIII Group Discussion of the ICAR-All India Coordinated Research Project on Fruits was organised from 9-12 February 2026 at Gobind Ballabh Pant University of Agriculture and Technology, Pantnagar, Uttarakhand.

The event was presided over by Prof. (Dr) Manmohan Singh Chauhan, Vice-Chancellor, GBPUAT, and attended by distinguished dignitaries including Dr V.B. Patel, Assistant Director General (Fruits and Plantation Crops) (Graced Virtually), Dr Prakash Patil, Project Coordinator (Fruits), Dr Jagadish Rane, Director, ICAR-Central Institute for Arid Horticulture, Bikaner, Dr Dilip Ghosh ICAR-Central Citrus Research Institute Nagpur, along with other senior officials.

In his inaugural address, Dr V.B. Patel, Assistant Director General (Fruits and Plantation Crops), highlighted the importance of horticultural crops, particularly fruit crops, for India’s economy and nutritional security.

The Guest of Honor, Dr Jagdish Rane, emphasized fruit crop production, package of practices (PoP), and strategic planning to overcome challenges in fruit breeding.

Dr Dilip Ghosh underscored the significance of Citrus and other fruits and advocated Public-Private Partnerships as strong models for varietal improvement.

In his presidential address, Dr Manmohan Singh Chauhan highlighted GBPUAT’s contributions, Uttarakhand’s rich biodiversity, the importance of research data integrity, and proposed the inclusion of new crops under the AICRP on Fruits.

During the inaugural session, Dr Prakash Patil presented key project achievements for 2025–26, and two publications viz “Comprehensive Production Guide and Regional Technology Compendium for Papaya” and Technology Basket for Enhancing Production of Mango, Guava and Litchi were released.

Key Recommendations and Deliberations:

1. Variety Notification: The release proposals for Grand Naine and Monthan (Banana) have been recommended for inclusion in Rajasthan’s crop production guide, while Arka Mridula (Guava) has been recommended for adoption in Karnataka and Bihar.

2. Crop Production Technologies: Clump management in banana is recommended for higher yields in Assam, Andhra Pradesh, and West Bengal, while Dogridge rootstock is advised for grape cultivation in Tamil Nadu. AMC-based nutrient management in papaya is recommended for Maharashtra, in addition to earlier recommendations for Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Gujarat, and Jharkhand. For litchi in Bihar, drip irrigation with mulching is recommended to improve yield and fruit quality.

3. Crop Protection Technologies: For Mango, modified tree banding is recommended for mealy bug management in Uttarakhand and Punjab, while another technology, a management schedule for shoot gall psylla is advised for Uttarakhand and Jharkhand.
4. Multi-Location Trials (MLTs): Plans were proposed for six new multi-location trials (MLTs) in banana, kamalam, rambutan, sapota, guava, and mango, along with eight crop production technologies—two each in Kamalam and banana, and one each in guava, grape, and mango. Additionally, three plant protection trials were presented, comprising two in mango and one in grape.

During the farmer interaction session, several key concerns were highlighted, including market issues in mango due to glut during June–July, post-harvest management of various fruit crops, limited availability of planting material for non-traditional fruit crops such as kafal, buransh, darim, insect pest management in mango, judicious use of agrochemicals during guava and mango flowering, and the lack of post-harvest infrastructure and market intelligence.

The valedictory session was chaired by Dr. V. B. Patel, Assistant Director General (Fruits and Plantation Crops), with Dr. P.C. Tripathi, PS (Hort. Sci.) ICAR and Prof. (Dr.) Sanjay Kumar Verma, Director Research, GBPUAT, as co-chairs, during which the recommendations from the technical sessions were finalized.

The event concluded with a strong commitment to strengthening research collaborations and advancing technologies in fruit crop production and protection.

(Source: ICAR - Indian Institute of Horticultural Research, Bengaluru)