State government committed to making HP a fruit state of the country - Jagat Singh Negi

Jagat Singh Negi, Revenue, Horticulture and Tribal Development Minister of Himachal Pradesh said that the state government was committed to developing Himachal into a fruit state of the country. He expressed these views during an interaction session with the university scientists during the one-day visit to Dr. YS Parmar University of Horticulture and Forestry, Nauni in Solan district on Thursday.

During the visit, the Horticulture Minister inaugurated the Sample Processing Unit of the Advanced Leaf and Soil Analysis Laboratory established under the Himachal Pradesh Horticulture Development Project at a total cost of Rs 50 lakh.Addressing the university scientists during an interaction session, Jagat Singh Negi said the University has played a big role in the development of horticulture in the state. He said the novel ideas and technologies from the university will be the key to future progress in this sector especially in the SHIVA project for the subtropical region.  Laying special emphasis on Clean planting material, which he said was the future for this sector, Negi exhorted, “Horticulture was a major contributor to the state economy and lakhs of farmers were dependent on it for their livelihood, therefore clean planting material must be ensured”. 

Jagat Singh Negi appreciated the university for raising clean fruit planting material in its nurseries and asked the scientists to increase the number of plants so that more farmers could be reached. He also suggested looking into the tissue culture method, which could be utilized to provide clean planting material as per the needs of the farmers. He said that we must utilize the agro-climatic advantages of the state to ensure that Himachal becomes a fruit state of the country. 

Earlier, Vice Chancellor Professor Rajeshwar Singh Chandel welcomed the horticulture minister and gave a detailed overview of the different activities being undertaken by the university. A presentation on Clean planting material was also given by Dr Anil Handa.  

Field visits to the university farms including fruit nurseries, Post Entry quarantine sites, high-density apple plantations, kiwi block, tissue culture laboratory, Advanced Soil and Leaf analysis lab, Electron microscopy lab, forest products and medicinal plants laboratories and herbarium were also undertaken. A Terminalia Metallica plant was also planted on the university campus by the Horticulture Minister.