Why in news?  ICAR-IIHR innovations uplifted the farming community

Highlights:

• The Institute inaugurated a Centre of Excellence for kamalam (dragon fruit) established to improve sustainable livelihood, and to totally substitute import with domestic cultivation
• Centre will support the production of a high-performance variety of fruit that requires specific conditions, including layered red soil and a mean temperature below 40 degrees Celsius

Plant Diagnostic Centre

• Under Rashtriya Krishi Vikas Yojana, plant health clinic is inaugurated by ICAR-Indian Institute of Horticultural Research (IIHR) in Hesaraghatta
• The centre will provide diagnostic services like disease rectification and management advisories for their crops.
• It will issue disease information advisories every 15 days, including information about common diseases in the particular crop at that particular time and if it will be useful for fruit, vegetable, and flower growers.

Seed production centre

• The HAL-ICAR IIHR seed production centre has established under HAL CSR mandate (Corporate social responsibility )
• Unit will focuses on parameters like purity, germination capacity, and moisture to enhance the quality of the seeds.
• The seed manufactured here will be coated with polymer that adheres to the seed well

Other Centres

• A centre for spawn incubation and capacity development under RKVY with focus areas including mushroom spawn production, mushroom cultivation, and small-scale industries associated with mushroom machinery was also inaugurated
• The centre is first-its-kind established exclusively for trainees to experiment with the facility and create self-sustaining entrepreneurship opportunities.
• A postgraduation dining centre, agri-business incubation centre, centre of excellence on Kamalam fruit, fruit plant mall (nursery), and Karnataka exotic fruit farmers association (KEFA) were established