Pulwama: The CSIR Indian Institute of Integrative Medicine (IIIM), Jammu, under the Ministry of Science & Technology, began its annual tulip plantation at the institute’s field station in Bonera, Pulwama.
Dr Zabeer Ahmed, director of CSIR-IIIM, said the Pan India CSIR Floriculture Mission aims to make Jammu & Kashmir a hub for tulip bulb production and help India become self-sufficient. “Since 2021, the mission has strengthened floriculture and empowered farmers through high-value ornamental crops,” he said.
As part of the event, CSIR-IIIM held a workshop on integrated apiculture, commercial floriculture, and ornamental crop production. About 120 students and 40 apiculture farmers from South Kashmir participated. They received training on honey bee management, pest and pathogen control, and winter care for apiaries.
Dr Shahid Rasool, principal scientist and in charge of the field station, said the training also covered ornamental crop propagation, controlled environment cultivation, post-harvest management, and market-driven varietal selection.
Experts delivered lectures on crop improvement, conservation of wild medicinal and aromatic plants, adaptive cultivation under climate variability, and biotechnological interventions for quality enhancement.
CSIR-IIIM began tulip cultivation at the station in 2022 to indigenise tulip bulbs, develop agro-technological protocols, and expand domestic cultivation. The initiative aligns with the prime minister’s vision of Viksit Bharat 2047.
