A team of officials led by the managing director and Chief Executive Officer of Indian Farmers Fertiliser Cooperative limited (IFFCO), US Awasthi, visited the Forest Research Institute here on Thursday to explore possibility of collaborative research programmes with the institute under forestry sector.
Speaking on the occasion, Awasthi informed that earlier it was planned to develop polyploids of Neem in Australia but it is satisfying to learn that scientists of FRI have taken up this challenge and are progressing.
Awasthi also assured to facilitate all support to scientists and FRI for this and other works. He further extended support for other important research programmes like Greening Railways programme wherein the Indian Railways is planning to carry out afforestation on its idle-land as well as along the tracks.
The institute could play a better role as a consultant for selecting right species for block and track plantations, species for particular soil type across India, supplying quality planting stocks and other related issues.
Earlier, welcoming Awasthi and his team, the FRI director Savita extolled him as an important instrument in shaping Indian agriculture through application of fertilisers, drip irrigation and farm forestry among others. She further thanked IFFCO for funding a project on development on polyploids of Neem in close collaboration with Arid Forest Research Institute, Jodhpur. later, scientist and project coordinator Ashok Kumar made a detailed presentation informing about status of work progress stating that the scientists of FRI and AFRI have been working consistently to develop polyploids directing towards enhanced growth and productivity.
Various treatments have been apdplied to create polyploids under a very specialised and scientific job. The visiting team was further informed that the FRI had utilised its genetic resources on 100 kg quality seed of Neem to germinate lakhs of seedlings. Kumar said that under a different programme, the institute had supplied about 2.75 lakh quality seedlings of Melia to IFFDC this year, which is a subsidiary of IFFCO, for farm forestry to carry out plantations in eastern Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan. In the past too, the institute had collaborated with IFFCO to reclaim about 40,000 hectares of sodic soils in the district of Sultanpur in eastern Uttar Pradesh. The role of bamboos was also emphasised upon for future afforestation programme of IFFCO.
Speaking on the occasion, IFFCO general manager Yogendra Kumar expressed hope that a productive population of Neem could be developed which would change the scenario of Neem cultivation in India.
It is pertinent to mention here that among other developments, in 2015 the FRI had signed a memorandum of understanding with IFFCO to work on a research and development project for developing species of Neem (Azadirachta indica) with enhanced seed and oil content apart from earlier maturity to provide increased quantity of Neem oil. The project was expected to fulfill the requirement to meet new directions of the Government of India to produce 100 per cent Neem coated urea only so that soil health could be maintained under environmental friendly manner to reduce requirement of urea that would also work as insect-pest repellent.