Heliconia Day celebrated at ICAR-CCARI Old Goa with lots of flower enthusiasts
Heliconia Day celebrated at ICAR-CCARI Old Goa with lots of flower enthusiasts
Heliconia day was celebrated at ICAR-CCARI, Old Goa on 19th October, 2015, where in more than 90 particpants comprising of students of science and faculties from, Government College, Quepem, Government College, Sankhalim, PES College, Ponda, St. Xavier College, Mapusa, Agriculture college students from Don Bosco College of Agriculture, Sulcorna, MBA (Travel and Tourism) from Goa University, apart from progressive farmers, officers from Forestry Department, Department of Agriculture, and flower enthusiasts from all over Goa. During the programme, an exhibition on 45 varieties of heliconia and 10 types of related species were exhibited to the participants. Mrs. Vijayadevi Rane, Bicholim attended the programme as Chief Guest. She narrated her experience in establishing commercial cultivation of Heliconia at her farm and urged the ICAR to facilitate technical know how including supply of quality planting materials and marketing intervention. Dr. Narendra Pratap Singh, Director of ICAR presided over the function. He emphasized the need to go for commercial venture in under exploited flower crops like Heliconia in Goa as it was done for gerbera and orchids. He also expressed ICAR readiness in preparing technical project for commercial floriculture for cultivation and facilitating in marketing.
Dr. M. Thangam, Senior Scientist (Hort.) and organizing secretary of the programme welcomed the participants and delivered a lecture on Heliconia-A potential crop for Goa covering all aspects of Heliconia and took the participants for a Heliconia Walk in field. Dr. Safeena, SA, Scientist (Floriculture) gave a detailed presentation on diversification in floriculture with special emphasis on cut foliage, tinting and drying technology etc.
Planting materials of exhibited heliconia were supplied to the participants apart from different foliage and potted plants at the heliconia exhibition. Later, in the plenary session, Mr. Lalit Agarwal, Franchise Owner of Florance Flora in Goa spoke on marketing strategies and quality requirement of different flower crops in Goa. He emphasized on quality of flowers, proper packaging and marketing. He also mooted an idea of Flower Grower Association in order to address issue of cultivation, marketing and promotion in Goa.