Talk:Agri Horticultural Society of India

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Karnataka Horticulture Department plans to distribute 40 lakh free saplings Our Bureau

Mangalore , July 3

THE Department of Horticulture in Karnataka will distribute 40 lakh free saplings of various varieties during 2005-06, according to the State Horticulture Minister, Mr A. Srinivas.

Speaking after launching the `Integrated Horticulture Crop Development Programme' at Belthangady in Dakshina Kannada district on Sunday, the Minister said that every beneficiary in the State would get saplings worth Rs 4,000 free of cost during the monsoon. The sapling varieties include mango, guava, cashewnut, and lemon.

The sapling distribution function in Belthangady was jointly organised by the Department of Horticulture and the Sri Kshetra Dharmasthala Rural Development Project (SKDRDP).

Mr Srinivas said that the Department would also distribute 10 lakh banana plants, produced from tissue culture, to growers during the current fiscal.

Around five lakh plants will be procured from biotechnology centre at Hulimavu near Bangalore, and the rest from tissue culture companies in the State. Each farmer will get 1,200 banana plants free of cost under the scheme.

Initially, these plants will be distributed in Bangalore Rural, Mandya, Tumkur, Mysore, Chitradurga, Shimoga, Hassan, Chikmagalur, Davangere, Haveri, Bellary, and Dharwad districts.

Speaking on the occasion, Mr K.R. Jayaram, Joint Director (Plantation Crops), Department of Horticulture, said that Rs 28 lakh has been released for the distribution of saplings in Dakshina Kannada district.

"There is a good scope for the cultivation of orchids and anthurium in the district," he added.

The SKDRDP Chairman, Dr D. Veerendra Heggade, who presided over the function, urged the farmers to use vermicompost and organic fertilisers to maintain balance in environment