Pulwama (Jammu and Kashmir): As tourists throng the famous Tulip Garden on the banks of Dal Lake in Srinagar, the summer capital of Jammu and Kashmir, researchers at a leading research institute are working to produce the tulip bulbs on a commercial scale in the valley itself to boost the local floriculture economy.
At the Srinagar tulip Garden, the over 12 lakh tulip bulbs planted are imported from foreign countries. In a significant development, under the CSIR Floriculture Mission, research is going on to produce these tulips in the valley itself which will benefit the local farmers. The Council of Scientific and Industrial Research Indian Institute of Integrative Medicine Field Station Bunra Pulwama has conducted an experiment this year to propagate tulip bulbs locally in Kashmir.
Dr. Iqrar Farooq Senior Project Associate associated with the unique experiment while talking exclusively with ETV Bharat said that they have conducted the experiment for the first time in Jammu and Kashmir and have been successful in it so far. Dr Iqrar said that to grow tulip plants they had to import the batches from foreign countries which can now be grown locally.
Dr. Shahid Rasool, Senior Scientist and in-charge of Field Station Bunra, said that the successful experiment has been carried out under the supervision of Minister of State for Science and Technology Dr Jitender Singh and Director of Department Dr Zabeer Ahmed. He said that the CSIR Floriculture Mission 2020 has been launched at the national level with the aim of increasing the income of the farmers of the country as well as empowering the farmers and youth in the floriculture sector to cultivate and use different types of floriculture crops.
He said that the tulip experiment has been a success for which he congratulated the research team in the field station. “In the coming time we hope that the farmers of Kashmir Valley will play a key role in the production of tulip bulbs which will improve their livelihood and play a positive role in the cultivation of tulips for the various tourist areas of the country,” he added.
