The All India Coordinated Research Project on Floriculture was established during IV Five-Year Plan in the year 1970-71 to carryout nation-wide interdisciplinary research by linking ICAR Institutes with State Agricultural Universities (SAU’s). The necessity of the project has been reviewed from time to time in view of growing importance and potential of floriculture in different regions of the country and the numbers of Coordinated Centers as well as the research programme were modified accordingly. At present the Coordinated Project has 21 Centers which includes 15 budgetary, 4 institutional and 2 voluntary Centers. The project was upgraded to a full-fledged institute named as Directorate of Floricultural Research during XI Plan.
The establishment of an independent institute ‘Directorate of Floricultural Research’ by ICAR at IARI Campus, New Delhi, was a positive step to strengthen the existing network of AICRP on Floriculture and also to make them more focused and research oriented. Newly established Directorate of Floricultural Research with the help of AICRP network is playing an important role in strengthening floricultural research and augmenting the technological base in floriculture in different regions of the country. Outreach of the technologies and creating awareness about the benefits of practicing floriculture among rural population is the need of the hour, which is achieved through the network of coordinated centers spread all over the country.
