Only institution that finds place in top 100

Ambika Sharma

THE Dr YS Parmar University of Horticulture and Forestry has improved its overall ranking by achieving the 71st position in the Ministry of Human Resource Development’s National Institutional Ranking Framework (NIRF) 2018. It is the only institution in the state which has managed to make it to the list of top 100 universities in India. The  university has faculty strength of 218 and an operating budget of Rs 124 crore is largely managed through research projects from funding agencies like the ICAR, DBT, DST, HPSTC, etc. What is encouraging for the university is that it has been ranked at 24th position in the university list for teaching learning resources. The university has scored full marks in faculty-student ratio and women diversity (per centage of women). The university has also scored well in the faculty, qualification and experience, and university examination. The university is placed at the seventh position among 11 horticulture, agriculture and veterinary universities, which have found place in this top 100 universities list.

600 rose varieties on display at fest

A rose festival was organised on the university campus where thousands of roses were on display. The university’s Department of Floriculture and Landscape Architecture in collaboration with the Floriculture Students’ Staff Association organised this festival at the DR Thakur Rose Garden located on the campus. With over 600 varieties of roses, the rose garden holds the distinction of having the largest collection of roses in the state. Flower growers from nearby areas and students from various schools flocked to witness the festival. Established in 2010 with external support from the ICAR, the garden was expanded in 2011. Varieties like hybrid tree, floribunda, polyantha, miniatures, ramblers, cascades and climbers were among some of the rose varieties on display at the festival. Progressive rose growers from Solan district were honoured by the university at the event.

Apple farmers get tips on pollination

Apple farmers from four districts of the state got practical lessons on how to manage pollination at the university. Farmers hailing from Shimla, Chamba, Sirmaur and Mandi attended the one-day demonstration camp on the ‘Role of managed pollination in the apple orchards’. The camp was held under the World Bank-funded Himachal Pradesh Horticulture Development Project. The nodal officer of the project in the university is Dr JN Sharma, who is also the Director Research of the university. Project coordinator Dr Harish Sharma said,  Farmers also learnt about the identification of important insect pollinators and the strategies to conserve them. The main idea was to apprise the farmers on the vital role played by bees and other insect pollinators and motivate them to implement it in their orchards and reap its benefits. They were also given live demonstration at the university apiary.

One-stop destination for farmers 

Over the years, the Directorate of Extension Education (DEE) at the Dr YS Parmar University of Horticulture and Forestry (UHF), Nauni, has become the one-stop destination for farmers from the state looking to hone their agricultural and horticultural skills. The Directorate has conducted 247 training camps in its 242 working days. These camps have helped it to reach out to 11,000 farmers. Out of the total, 86 trainings were conducted at the headquarters, while the remaining were held at different krishi vigyan kendras and regional horticultural research and training stations of the university. The directorate also generated an income of over Rs 50 lakh from these sponsored trainings.