Free Essays-Agriculture-Spicy Research to Earn Foreign Exchange

Spicy Research to Earn Foreign Exchange

  

            Vanilla farmers in the southern States have earned millions of rupees during the last few seasons. Now they are waiting for the outcome of Indian Cardamom Research Institute’s (ICRI) studies on vanilla. The farmers are aware of the positive impact on their life with the possible success of this study.

            The Indian Cardamom Research Institute is situated at Myladumpara in Kerala. It pioneers research in profitable cultivation of spices in the southern States. Now the spice farming community is hopefully waiting for the results of its efforts to develop tissue culture vanilla which can pollinate naturally. Vanilla is a labour-intensive crop. Artificial pollination is a must for it. But the spice farming community believes that the ICRI scientists could develop methods to bypass artificial pollination.

            The scientists of ICRI are trying to develop self-pollination in vanilla with the help of tissue culture technology. Farmers are presently cultivating vanilla planifolia. But its cultivation can be possible and commercially viable only when it is artificially pollinated. The scientists hope that if they could impart the ability of natural pollination of wild variety and aroma of vanilla plantifolia into one plant, it will revolutionise in this costly cash crop’s cultivation.

            The contributions of ICRI are not limited to vanilla alone. As the name indicates, its primary mandate was to conduct research on cardamom. The institute constituted under the erstwhile Cardamom Board in 1978 came under the Spices Board of the Commerce Ministry in 1986. The institute has released four high yielding cardamom selections and a couple of hybrid varieties with improved productivity ready for release to the farmers. The plant pathology division of the institute has developed detection techniques and control measures for 26 different types of plant diseases. The entomology division has listed 52 types of pests in cardamom and developed control measures for most of them. It has succeeded in the biocontrol of pests and diseases. The other achievements of ICRI have been in the fields of post-harvesting technologies for cardamom, black pepper, vanilla, ginger and turmeric.

            Studies in this institute are not limited in the laboratory or research papers. The results of the studies are often transferred to the farming community. In addition to the usual procedures for transfer of technology, ICRI also trains the planters and conducts meetings and demonstrations. The regional research stations of ICRI situated at Gangtok (Sikkim), Sakelpur (Karnataka) and Thadiyankudissi (Tamil Nadu) also assist the farming community in commercial cultivation of spices. They conduct studies to increase productivity as well.

            The ICRI has conducted successful trials in organic herb farming in the Nilgiri area of Tamil Nadu. It is making efforts to develop spice varieties which need no input management. This would help Indian spice exporters increase their share in the global spice market.