What are Clean Plant Centres?
The Indian government plans to establish 10 Clean Plant Centres to promote domestic production of crops like apples, almonds, grapes, avocados, and blueberries, which have seen an increase in demand for imported planting materials. They will be set up under the Atmanirbhar Clean Plant Program. The centres will offer diagnostic, therapeutic, and plant multiplication services, with an overall budget of Rs 2,200 crore until 2030. These are to be established along the lines of such facilities in the USA, Israel and the Netherlands.
What are Clean Plant Centres?
The Clean Plant Centres are those places that work to improve the health of the plants. It produces healthy and disease-free plantings.
How are Clean Plants made?
First, the harmful pathogens in the plant are removed. Virus-tested and disease-resistant tissues are isolated and injected into healthy plants.
What is Atma Nirbhar Clean Plant Program?
The Atmanirbhar Clean Plant Program was announced in the Union Budget 2023-24. It aims to reduce the challenges of obtaining disease-free and genuine planting materials for horticultural crops in India.
Who implements Atma Nirbhar Bharat Clean Plant Program?
The National Horticulture Board will implement the program, in partnership with research organizations, agriculture universities, and private sector entities.
What is the need for Clean Plant Centre?
The major challenge in horticulture is creating disease-free plantings. So far, India was importing the plantings. There was no plant centre in the country to produce healthy plantings.
What are the benefits of Clean Plant Centres?
The clean plant centres will help India reduce its dependence on other countries. Usually, India buys plant materials and uses them for multiple seasons by storing the material. Now, with the plant centres, the storing period has also been reduced to just six months. Fresh plantings shall be prepared. Harvest of trees grown from stored plantings are always less as compared to that of fresh plantings.
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Month: Current Affairs - March, 2023
Category: Agriculture Current Affairs • Economy & Banking Current Affairs