Excelsior Correspondent
SRINAGAR, Mar 29: In a mesmerizing showcase of agricultural diversification, the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research-Indian Institute of Integrative Medicine (CSIR-IIIM), Jammu, today threw open the CSIR Tulip Fest-2026 to the public at its Field Station Bonera in Pulwama.
A spokesperson said the station, known for pursuing breakthrough research and technologies in medicinal and aromatic crops, has introduced a new facet to its research and technology deployment endeavours under the flagship CSIR Floriculture Mission, launched by the Ministry of Science and Technology to strengthen the commercial floriculture landscape in the region.
Under a dedicated vertical of the Mission for producing indigenous, the spokesperson said high-quality germplasm for commercial floricultural cultivars, the institute has made significant progress over the past five years, particularly in the indigenization of tulip bulb production.
He said leveraging the favourable agro-climatic conditions of Jammu and Kashmir, especially in the Kashmir Valley, the Field Station currently hosts around 1.3 lakh blooming tulips, attracting thousands of visitors, including students, influencers, environmentalists and local residents. “The initiative marks a major milestone under the CSIR Floriculture Mission and builds upon a pilot experiment initiated four years ago. Preliminary research on tulip bulb germination and multiplication has yielded promising results, laying the groundwork for large-scale local production,” he said.
Addressing the inaugural function, Director CSIR-IIIM Jammu, Dr. Zabeer Ahmed, highlighted the institute’s commitment to providing high-quality planting material to farmers, thereby strengthening their economic prospects and transforming the region’s agrarian ecosystem.
While appreciating the efforts of researchers involved in the Floriculture Mission, he emphasized that scientific interventions at the station are playing a crucial role in enabling import substitution of tulip bulbs, adding that the Mission is being successfully implemented under the guidance of Dr. Jitendra Singh, Union Minister of Science and Technology.
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