Kerala - Thiruvananthapuram   

Botanic garden on green drive

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: In a few years, driving along the Nedumangad- Aryankavu State highway may be akin to travelling along a green corridor, thanks to a tree-planting drive taken up by the Tropical Botanic Garden and Research Institute (TBGRI), at Palode, near here.

The project involves planting saplings of various tree species along the highway. Chief Minister V.S. Achuthanandan inaugurated the greening project at a function held on the TBGRI campus on Saturday.

Mr. Achuthanandan said the rulers of the erstwhile Travancore had planted shade trees along roads for the benefit of people. “We have to bring back that good practice for the benefit of the future generations,” he said.

Book on bamboo

He also released a book titled ‘Bamboos at TBGRI' on the occasion.

‘Bamboos at TBGRI', authored by scientist K.C. Koshy, documents the rich live collection of various bamboo species in the bambusetum on the campus. The bambusetum is a gene bank conservation area for various bamboo species.

Huge collection

Started in 1987, the bamboo collection has grown into one of the largest in India with 933 accessions spread over an area of 6.59 hectare.

This includes species and accessions mostly from the Western Ghats, a sizeable number from the North Eastern States, and a few from abroad, all of which were acclimatised in the bambusetum.

The book provides a picture of the genetic resources of bamboos available at TBGRI.

It is expected to be a useful tool for policymakers, taxonomists, breeders, horticulturists and landscape architects, and for future bamboo development activities in the country.

J. Arundhathi, MLA; Vatsala, president of Peringammala gram panchayat; Priji, ward member; TBGRI director A. Subramoniam and scientist S. Rajasekharan also addressed the gathering.

Printer friendly page  
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Stories in this Section

Botanic garden on green drive
Workshop on agriculture research
Kerala wins best destination award
Mining a major threat to lakes: study
Haritha Vidyalayam completes 50 episodes
‘State spending can spur food production'
CESS studying depletion of mineral content in sand
Experts highlight potential of frontier areas of S&T
Work on flats resumes at colony
Youth fete jingle released
Rail overbridge work from February 7
In Tiruvananthapuram Today

Copyright © 2011, The Hindu. Republication or redissemination of the contents of this screen are expressly prohibited without the written consent of The Hindu