PGR News from the Pacific

Posted 4:17 PM by Tevita

Horticulture programme outlay may go up

From : The Hindu

Special Correspondent

TIRUCHI: The National Horticulture Mission has had a good impact and the allocation for the programme is likely to be increased to about Rs.3,000 crore during the XI Plan, said H.P.Singh, Deputy Director General (Horticulture), Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR).

Though there may be a few minor shortcomings, the mission has been well executed.

The accent has been on using technology for promoting horticulture crops, he said speaking to reporters on the sidelines of the sixth steering committee meeting of Banana Asia Specific Network (BAPNET) hosted by the ICAR and Bioversity International here on Wednesday.

Dr.Singh also disclosed that the allocation of the National Research Centre on Banana (NRCB) in Tiruchi is likely to be more than doubled during the XI Plan.

It was likely to touch about Rs.15 crore and most of the additional allocation would be spent on improving the infrastructure of the centre.

Potato genomics

Explaining some of the latest research projects taken up by ICAR, Dr.Singh said India was part of an international research initiative on the genomics of potato and ICAR would be contributing about Rs.29 crore for the project. The project aims at gene mapping of potato. A research project on virus attacks on diverse crops is likely to be sanctioned soon at a cost of Rs.40 crore.

Earlier, speaking at the inauguration of the BAPNET meet, Dr.Singh called for trans-border collaborative research to tackle challenges in growing banana and the diseases that were spreading across the borders. Climate change posed an important challenge as the associated temperature rise and change in rainfall pattern could have an impact on horticulture crops, especially banana. The gene revolution was throwing many solutions but effective partnerships were needed to tackle the challenges.

Agustin B.Molina, Regional Coordinator for Asia and Pacific, Bioversity International and Executive Secretary, BAPNET, said the dreaded and virulent tropical race 4 of panama wilt, a major production threat to Cavendish and other varieties of banana, was spreading in Asia and posing a threat.

It was essential to check the spread of the disease in China and the Philippines, two major Cavendish-producing countries, and its spread to other countries. Nicolas Roux, Project Coordinator, Bioversity International, emphasised on the importance of conserving and using genetic diversity in banana, especially in Asia and the Pacific.

M.M.Mustafa, Director, NRCB, and P.Sundararaju of NRCB, spoke.

Awards given

Four scientists including Dr.Mustafa, S.Uma, Senior Scientist, NRCB, Nik Maskek, Senior Researcher, Malaysian Agricultural Research and Development Institute, and Rosa N.Kambuou, Principal Scientist, National Agricultural Research Institute, Papua New Guinea, were conferred the Pisang Raja awards.



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DIVA-GIS	Thursday, November 13, 2008 Posted 4:17 PM by Tevita Horticulture programme outlay may go up From : The Hindu Special Correspondent TIRUCHI: The National Horticulture Mission has had a good impact and the allocation for the programme is likely to be increased to about Rs.3,000 crore during the XI Plan, said H.P.Singh, Deputy Director General (Horticulture), Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR). Though there may be a few minor shortcomings, the mission has been well executed. The accent has been on using technology for promoting horticulture crops, he said speaking to reporters on the sidelines of the sixth steering committee meeting of Banana Asia Specific Network (BAPNET) hosted by the ICAR and Bioversity International here on Wednesday. Dr.Singh also disclosed that the allocation of the National Research Centre on Banana (NRCB) in Tiruchi is likely to be more than doubled during the XI Plan. It was likely to touch about Rs.15 crore and most of the additional allocation would be spent on improving the infrastructure of the centre. Potato genomics Explaining some of the latest research projects taken up by ICAR, Dr.Singh said India was part of an international research initiative on the genomics of potato and ICAR would be contributing about Rs.29 crore for the project. The project aims at gene mapping of potato. A research project on virus attacks on diverse crops is likely to be sanctioned soon at a cost of Rs.40 crore. Earlier, speaking at the inauguration of the BAPNET meet, Dr.Singh called for trans-border collaborative research to tackle challenges in growing banana and the diseases that were spreading across the borders. Climate change posed an important challenge as the associated temperature rise and change in rainfall pattern could have an impact on horticulture crops, especially banana. The gene revolution was throwing many solutions but effective partnerships were needed to tackle the challenges. Agustin B.Molina, Regional Coordinator for Asia and Pacific, Bioversity International and Executive Secretary, BAPNET, said the dreaded and virulent tropical race 4 of panama wilt, a major production threat to Cavendish and other varieties of banana, was spreading in Asia and posing a threat. It was essential to check the spread of the disease in China and the Philippines, two major Cavendish-producing countries, and its spread to other countries. Nicolas Roux, Project Coordinator, Bioversity International, emphasised on the importance of conserving and using genetic diversity in banana, especially in Asia and the Pacific. M.M.Mustafa, Director, NRCB, and P.Sundararaju of NRCB, spoke. Awards given Four scientists including Dr.Mustafa, S.Uma, Senior Scientist, NRCB, Nik Maskek, Senior Researcher, Malaysian Agricultural Research and Development Institute, and Rosa N.Kambuou, Principal Scientist, National Agricultural Research Institute, Papua New Guinea, were conferred the Pisang Raja awards. * Comments: Post a Comment	Archive October 2002 November 2002 December 2002 January 2003 February 2003 March 2003 April 2003 May 2003 June 2003 July 2003 August 2003 September 2003 October 2003 November 2003 December 2003 January 2004 February 2004 March 2004 April 2004 May 2004 June 2004 July 2004 August 2004 September 2004 October 2004 November 2004 December 2004 January 2005 February 2005 March 2005 April 2005 May 2005 June 2005 July 2005 August 2005 September 2005 October 2005 November 2005 December 2005 January 2006 February 2006 March 2006 April 2006 May 2006 June 2006 July 2006 August 2006 September 2006 October 2006 November 2006 December 2006 January 2007 February 2007 March 2007 April 2007 May 2007 June 2007 July 2007 August 2007 September 2007 October 2007 November 2007 December 2007 January 2008 February 2008 March 2008 April 2008 May 2008 June 2008 July 2008 August 2008 September 2008 October 2008 November 2008 December 2008 January 2009 February 2009 March 2009 April 2009 May 2009 June 2009 July 2009 August 2009 September 2009 October 2009 November 2009 January 2010 RSS Feed Alternative feed Contact Tevita Something new: Agrobiodiversity Weblog: For discussions of conservation and sustainable use of the genetic resources of crops, livestock and their wild relatives. 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