To address the issue of land scarcity coming in the way of planting fruit-bearing trees, the horticulture department has decided to plant dwarf fruit trees across the city. This will enable more saplings to be planted in a small area, besides giving better yield. As part of the initiative, the department will provide dwarf varieties of mangoes and guava saplings to local denizens. Besides, old mango orchids in the state will be replaced with new varieties of dwarf fruit-bearing trees. Trees of dwarf variety can give better yield as these are planted at a distance of 2.5 x 2.5 compared to a normal mango tree, which is planted at a distance of at least 10 metre. Productivity is also high if the pre-planting, pre-harvesting and post-harvesting processes are scientifically followed. Discussing the initiative, agriculture minister Harak Singh Rawat said, “The trees will be planted in vacant spaces at schools and public places and these will be taken care of by the public welfare department, forest department and agriculture department.” Stating that fruit cultivation in Uttarakhand will become one of the most significant parts of its economy, Dr B S Negi, director of horticulture mission told TOI, “We are gradually shifting towards scientific ways of growing fruit trees. We are also trying to imbibe ways to promote cultivation of fruits as is being followed in other countries.”
Nearly 714 mango cultivators from across the state were rewarded by the horticulture mission on the occasion.
Source: indiatimes.com