Bhubaneswar, Nov, 21: The Floriculture and Landscaping department at Odisha University of Agriculture (OUAT)is facing a financial crisis. Therefore, research in the department has been restricted. One day, this section which was named after discovering different varieties of flowers, has become dormant today.
Earlier, this Department was part of the Horticulture Department. It was separated from its parent department in 2009. however, the research is limited because there is not enough money coming into the research works.
For research work, almost two thousand saplings are required per year. It cost about 2 lakhs. In every year, 17 to 20 research fellows do research at the center. It is now a very difficult task to supply the required saplings for research work. Besides this, in order to produce varieties of flowers, genes have to be mutated. But no such step has been taken yet to establish a Gama radiation lab in OUAT, said an official.
There is a high demand for floriculture for commercial purposes. it provides more income to the farmers. In floriculture, Merigold, Sevati, rose, and Jasmine are in demand. Through the chemical EMS, varieties of flower saplings are being changed. but it could have been fruitful if gamma radiation were available
However, since good varieties are not produced from the seeds. it is alleged that these flowering plants and some of the seeds were grown through tissue culture. So far, 19 lakh tissue culture plants have been given to Odisha farmers from the tissue culture office in Baramunda. Due to the lack of necessary equipment in this new department, the saplings required by the farmers cannot be supplied in large quantities.
