ICAR-Indian Institute of Vegetable Research hosts technical promotion day to showcase new crop varieties and technologies

VARANASI: A Technical Promotion Day was organised at the ICAR-Indian Institute of Vegetable Research by the Agri-Business Incubator (ABI) and the Zonal Technical Management Unit (ZTMU) on Tuesday. The event showcased new hybrids, varieties, and technologies developed for tomato, eggplant, and chili crops.

Under the guidance of the institute's Director, Nagendra Rai, 50 representatives and stakeholders from 25 seed companies and farmer producer organisations were introduced to the vegetable crop varieties developed by the institute.

The Executive Director, Arvind Nath Singh, engaged in detailed discussions with seed company representatives about the quality standards and marketing suggestions for seeds of improved vegetable crop varieties.

The program coordinator and project coordinator, Rajesh Kumar, highlighted the institute's efforts to promote public-private partnerships to disseminate advanced vegetable crop varieties to farmers and stakeholders. He emphasised the effectiveness of contracts with private companies through PPP and their assistance in other programs.

Sudarshan Maurya, principal scientist and chair of the Agri-Business Incubator (ABI) and Zonal Technical Management Unit, discussed the characteristics, evaluation, and licensing procedures of open-pollinated and hybrid varieties developed by the institute during a field visit with seed company representatives.

The participants engaged in field visits and feedback sessions to discuss various export, commercial, and trade characteristics, as well as disease and pest resistance of the vegetable crop varieties developed by the institute. They also assured recommendations for licensing and registration of these varieties with their respective companies.