Nurseries flower in mission mode

So long, production and supply of saplings and seeds of fruits, flowers and vegetables was either the forte of a handful of nurseries set up way back in the 1950s or in the grip of some MNCs who operate through their own network of wholesalers and retailers. But the launch of the Technology Mission for Integrated Development of Horticulture four years ago is finally impacting things on the ground.

‘‘Earlier, farmers were just clued into traditional paddy and rabi crops. The concept of nursery was also not well-known. But with the Technology Mission coming in, things are gradually changing. We have so far supported at least 50 nurseries, half of them new, in producing various varieties of mother plants so that saplings and seeds are available locally for the people,’’ says Dr Harsha Jyoti Baruah, joint director, horticulture, Assam.

For instance, Rajiv Sharma’s Daffodil Nursery which earlier produced saplings and cuttings of flowers, today has diversified into 300-odd varieties of mother plants of various horticultural and flower species.

Ditto for Assam Laxmi Nursery, owned by Tankuram Bora of Sonapur, about 25 km from here: Set up in 1996 as a homestead nursery, it now spreads over 15 bighas of land and has already attracted a Rs 4 lakh subsidy under the Horticulture Technology Mission.

Owners of nurseries with an area of two hectares and more are being given a subsidy of up to Rs 8 lakh, while those with less than two hectares are entitled for subsidy up to Rs 3 lakh.

Apart from monetary support through subsidies, the Horticulture Technology Mission has also provided these nurseries access to good sources of seeds. Thus, coconut and areca nut seeds now come in from the Central Plantation Crop Research Institute at Bangalore, while mango, litchi, and amla seeds and saplings are being brought in from the Lucknow-based Indian Institute of Sub-Tropical Horticulture.

The Technology Mission is also linking nursery owners to the Cashew & Cocoa Development Board, while the Coconut Board has already emerging as a major player to boost coconut production in the state.

‘‘The proliferation of these nurseries across the state has made quality saplings easily available for the farmers, thus triggering a significant increase in area under horticulture in the past few years,’’ points out Baruah.

Thus, the area under vegetable production has gone up by about 14 per cent in the past four years, while area under fruit cultivation has increased by about 10,000 hectares.