India: 6 years on, central institute resumes potato seed production

In a relief for farmers of hill states of the country, the Central Potato Research Institute (CPRI) has announced resumption of potato seed production after a hiatus of six years. The production of seed potatoes was halted in 2018 after outbreak of potato cyst in Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand and Jammu and Kashmir. The scarcity of good quality seeds had adversely hit potato production nationwide, prompting the Union agriculture ministry to entrust CPRI with the responsibility of finding a solution for the disease. After extensive trials, CPRI has developed a treatment for cyst nematode disease. The Union agriculture ministry has approved the production of quality seed . The Institute will supply potato seeds of various varieties such as Kufri Jyoti, Kufri Girdhari, Kufri Himalni and Kufri Karan, to hill states such as Uttarakhand, J&K, Sikkim, Manipur and Arunachal Pradesh, starting this year. This decision comes as a relief for farmers grappling with the repercussions of the ban ...