Introduction of Tissue Culture Banana Cluster

Demand for Banana has increased in Tripura over time. Different varieties of bananas including Sabri, Champa, Kanchkala, Sagar are being cultivated in this state and consumption of Banana is witnessing an upward movement. However, Sabri variety of Banana has a good demand compared to other varieties. Banana cultivation in Tripura is still traditional and age-old practice; generally, Banana cultivation in Tripura starts from the month of March and ends in the month of June/July in the year. In Tripura, Suckers are planted in well prepared pit in the designated land. Usually, upland/hilly and sloppy land are the places where Banana is cultivated, The growth cycle of the banana plant has three main stages: vegetative growth of the plant (6 months), flowering (3 months) and fruiting (3 months), which means the timeframe from planting to harvesting is at least 12 months or longer if the weather is cool. Aug 1 Tripura Biotechnology Board (TBB) has launched an ambitious project to cultivate 15,000 Sabri banana plants in next 3years catering a huge demand in the State. Yawan Kissan Libraray for Information & Broadcasting Resource Authority (YK-LIBRA) and College of Agriculture Tripura, Lembucherra organized one day training program on “Management of Tissue Culture Sabri banana plants and the importance of ICAR-Fusicont Application” was facilitated by YK-LIBRA for 13 farmers from Khayerpur Farmers Producer Company Ltd at the College of Agriculture Tripura, Lembucherra, Agartala West Tripura & supplying 425 plants to 9 Farmers of Pachim Noagaon GP and Purba Noagaon GP of Khayerpur FPO. Our team went to Pachim Noagaon GP in the Old Agartala Block, where the plants are now in vegetative growth.

Successful Introduction of Onion & Garlic Cultivation

Onion and garlic are indeed important vegetable crops that play a vital role in food preparations worldwide. The demand for onions continues to increase globally, and India leads in both the area and production of onions. Similarly, the cultivation of garlic is also on the rise in terms of both area and production. In Tripura, onion cultivation mainly takes place during the rabi season, and the availability of bulbs starts from April onwards. However, the state's production is not sufficient to meet the demand throughout the year, so Tripura relies on other states for onion supply. To address this, a One Day Training program on Cultivation technology of Onion and Input distribution was organized. The program was jointly organized by ICAR Research Complex for NEH Region Tripura Centre and Kumarghat Farmers Producer Company Ltd. The training program aimed to educate participants on onion cultivation techniques and provided them with vegetable seeds such as onion, radish, cabbage, coriander, pea, as well as a 10-liter capacity irrigation can. After a few months, YKLIBRA's team conducted a field survey to assess the progress of the newly introduced onion seeds provided by ICRP sponsored by AINRP. The survey revealed promising crop stands with transplanted onion seedlings observed in Ganganagar GP at Kumarghat Block, Unakoti District, Tripura. These initiatives, training programs, and field surveys contribute to the development and improvement of onion cultivation in the region, ultimately aiming to enhance self-sufficiency in onion production.