Scientists have developed a hybrid variety of date-palm which has yielded more than two times the average yield over the last four years at ICAR - Central Arid Zone Research Institute (CAZRI).
This variety of dates has been prepared by scientists using tissue culture technology and now about 150 date palm plants are prepared in the one-hectare area.
Dr RK Kaul, Principal Scientist CAZRI said, "These plants were planted in the institute farm in September 2014 and about two and a half years later, the plant started bearing fruits. Last year, 6,000 kg of date palm fruit was produced while this time it is likely to increase to about 8,000 kg."
"This species has proved successful for good production in the arid region. Each plant has more than 50 to 70 kg dates. Appropriate maintenance, irrigation and fertilizers can be used to get enough yield from plants in dates for 50 years," Kaul added.
CAZRI Director Dr OP Yadav said, "Palm cultivation is becoming popular in western Rajasthan. This variety is an early maturing variety. One of the biggest advantages of this variety is that it ripens before the arrival of rain, its yield is rich, colour is good and quality and sweetness are also very much. The price of the fruits in the market is also good."
Adding to this, Yadav also said, "A network project is going on in Bikaner, Jodhpur and Anand. The results are encouraging for the farmers, its gardening is good and it also makes a lot of income. Due to the high consumption of date fruit in India, it is imported. If the area and production increases in the country, then there will be no need to import it from other countries."
( With inputs from ANI )