Una, October 26 - A two-member team of Catch the Rain Abhiyan 2024 from the Union Ministry of Water Power visited the dragon fruit garden in Pipli village under development block Bangana. The two-member team included Director Dr. Pramod Kumar and Scientist Dr. Praveen Kumar. During this, they obtained detailed information about all the fertilizers used in the cultivation of dragon fruit and its maintenance.
Deputy Director of Horticulture Department, Dr. KK Bhardwaj told the two-member team that after planting the dragon fruit garden, its maintenance is being done under the NREGA scheme of the Rural Development Department. He informed that under the MIDH scheme, a garden of 3300 plants of Taiwan Pink variety of dragon fruit, called super fruit, was planted on twenty-five kanal land of the farmers of Peepli in August 2023 by the Horticulture Department. The department has provided composite fencing for animal prevention, drip irrigation system for irrigation, land development, concrete poles and high quality dragon plants to the farmers. Deputy Director Horticulture Dr. KK Bhardwaj told that dragon fruit is becoming famous these days due to its unique design, sweet taste, crunchy texture and high antioxidant properties. This fruit is a rich source of nutrients like calcium and iron. It has no or very low levels of fat, cholesterol and sodium. This plant is known for its ability to maintain high productivity even under conditions of high biotic or abiotic stress levels. Hence, it is considered a good source of good health for consumers and income for producers.
Dr Bhardwaj said that the fruit plant is a member of the cactus family. It is perennial in nature and can live for 15-20 years or more. It was introduced to India from some tropical American countries in the late 1990s. In recent years, some farmers in Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra, Gujarat, Andhra Pradesh, West Bengal, Tripura and Punjab have adopted dragon fruit cultivation. Dragon fruits are medium to large in size and are red in color. Apart from eating fresh, dragon fruit can also be used to make jam, ice cream, jelly, beverages, juice, nectar, wine etc.
On this occasion, BDO Bangana Sushil Kumar, Executive Engineer Rural Development Department Bangana Dr. Virendra Bhardwaj, Horticulture Development Officer Bangana Anupam Sharma, Horticulture Extension Officer, Pradhan Gram Panchayat Balh and farmers Roshan Lal, Madanlal, Premvati and Deep Kumar were present.