The Hindu : Andhra Pradesh / Hyderabad News : Sapling shortage hits horticulture mission

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Saturday, Sep 01, 2007
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Andhra Pradesh

Andhra Pradesh - Hyderabad

Sapling shortage hits horticulture mission

Ravi Reddy

HYDERABAD: The State Horticulture Mission’s (SHM) attempt to encourage horticultural crops is facing a peculiar problem owing to severe shortage of quality saplings.

With an annual budget of Rs. 160 crore earmarked for the mission for the current financial year, the department has drawn up ambitious plans to bring 28,636 hectares under fruit cultivation in the State.

Non-availability of quality saplings/grafts for sweet orange, pomegranate and other fruits is a cause of worry for the officials. The big question in the minds of officials is how to procure the saplings and meet the year’s target.

Officials are unable to supply sweet orange saplings as the State-owned nurseries and the Citrus Research Station, Tirupati run by the Acharya N. G. Ranga Agricultural University are unable to cope with the demand.

Sixty-lakh sweet orange saplings are required for 16,133 hectares. Private nurseries are exploiting the opportunity by selling saplings of inferior quality at jacked up prices.

The National Horticulture Mission has recommended Rangapur variety of sapling, which are not available in sufficient quantities. Sweet orange is grown on a large scale in Anantapur, Kadapa, Nalgonda, Mahabubnagar and Prakasam districts, where the demand for these saplings is more.

Executive Director of State Horticulture Mission H. Arun Kumar said: “Citrus Research Station and Government nurseries in Railway Kodur, Pulivendula and Anantapur together can only supply over one lakh saplings, as against the huge demand.”

Model nurseries

In a bid to overcome the problem, SHM is planning model nurseries in public and private sectors, besides encouraging small nurseries.

Twenty-four private and five public sector model nurseries and another 49 small nurseries in private and 12 in public sector will come up at a cost of Rs. 4.18 crore. “Our idea is to provide high quality Rangapur variety sapling that is pest resistant to these proposed nurseries,” he disclosed.

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