The Indian Council of Agricultural Research – Indian Institute of Horticultural Research (ICAR-IIHR), Bengaluru, has been lauded by the Hon’ble Union Minister of Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare, Shri Shivraj Singh Chouhan, for its pivotal role in the development and promotion of high-value fruit crops across India.
On April 13, 2025, the Honourable Union Minister of Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare Shri Shivaraj Singh Chauhan had discussion on Promotion of high value fruits crops with Secretary DARE and Secretary DA& FW, Dr Devesh Chaturvedi, Dr. V B Patel, ADG (Hort) ICAR, Shri Priya Ranjan Joint Secretary(Hort), MoAFW and Dr. G Karunakaran, Principal Scientist, IIHR, Bengaluru. The discussions focused on the potential of expanding the cultivation of high-value fruits such as Kamalam (dragon fruit), jackfruit, and avocado throughout the country.
Honorable Minister discussed about Kamalam selections IIHR Pink and IIHR White, having potential to boost area expansion and productivity in different states of India. Kamalam, has been profitable fruit crops, which has been commercially cultivated in Mexico, Australia, Thailand, Taiwan, Israel, etc countries but is now gaining popularity among farmers in India. Improved genetics and cultivars in Kamalam pave the way for area expansion under this crop and improving the farmers’ income.
Avocado another important fruit crops, need to be taken up on large scale for sustainability of farmer Income. In this regards IIHR has released two varieties Arka Supreme and Arka Ravi. These varieties are regular in bearing, high yielding. having fruit weight of 400-600 g with about 80% pulp recovery and suitable for cultivation in tropical regions.
Success in Jackfruit and Farmer Benefit Sharing Model
The coppery red varieties of Jackfruit Siddu and Shankara have been developed with support of ICAR- IIHR and have made huge impact on Jack fruit cultivation. More than 1500 acres are covered under these varieties. The farmers are benefited with approximately Rs. 50 lakhs under benefit share model with ICAR-IIHR.
Recognizing the importance of these breakthroughs, the Hon’ble Minister said that “ICAR-IIHR has conducted significant research on crops like kamalam (dragon fruit), jackfruit, and avocado. Successful trials have been conducted in Bengaluru, but now there is a need to expand this initiative across the country. The Minister shared that he himself is experimenting with the cultivation of dragon fruit, avocado, and jackfruit on his own farm so that farmers can see, understand, and move forward in this direction with confidence.
