Centre of Excellence for Sub-tropical Fruits to get weather station

Kurukshetra, July 20

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The Haryana Horticulture Department has come up with a plan to upgrade Indo-Israel Centre of Excellence for Subtropical Fruits. The department would also establish a state-of-the-art weather station at the centre in Ladwa. With the establishment of the weather station, the centre would be able to issue recommendations and guidelines to the farmers engaged in sub-tropical fruit farming in the state.

The centre demonstrated a variety of fruits such as mango, peach, pear, plum, sapota, litchi, apple, persimmon, pomegranate and guava, among others. Farmers from various states, such as Haryana, Punjab, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, Assam, Nagaland, and Gujarat, procure plants from the centre.

The Deputy Director of Horticulture, Dr Satyender Kumar, said, “The upgradation project will be sent to the Union Government for allocation of funds. A tender will be initiated for it after getting approval from the Union Ministry of Agriculture. The weather station at the fruit centre will help us get information on climate, soil temperature, water retention and evaporation rates, and wind velocity, among others.”

The subject matter specialist at the Indo-Israel centre, Dr Shivendu, said, “With the help of the weather station, the centre will be able to get information about likely diseases and pest attacks on fruits. The cultivation of fruits requires specific weather information. The upgrade will be done as per the recommendations of experts from Israel.”