BENGALURU: The 11th Indian Horticulture Congress began on Thursday at University of Agricultural Sciences (UAS), Gandhi Krishi Vigyana Kendra (GKVK), Bengaluru, with the release of two new flower varieties - rose Arka Veeraraghavan and china aster Arka Arina. An MoU was signed between ICAR–IIHR and the Uttar Pradesh government for technical input, capacity building and technology transfer on Kamalam (Dragon) fruit.
Inaugurating the event, agricultural scientist and Padma Bhushan awardee Dr. RS Paroda spoke about horticulture's central role in nutritional security, pointing out that fruit and vegetable consumption has doubled over two decades and horticultural production has surpassed cereals. He stressed the need for policy support, value addition, post-harvest reduction and stronger export focus for high-value crops.
Dr. ML Jat, Secretary, Department of Agricultural Research and Education (DARE) and DG ICAR, who presided over the event, urged to intensify work on nutrient-dense, underutilised and traditional crops to improve public health and strengthen local food systems. He highlighted the Prime Minister’s three mandates for the agriculture sector—biofortified crops, biodiversity utilisation and bio-based inputs for soil health.
Emphasising collaboration, he said agriculture must move from “working in parts” to functioning as an integrated system. He also noted new government initiatives such as clean plant material programmes, a mission on high-yielding seeds and an alternative gene bank to safeguard genetic diversity urging to use technologies for improving the methods in horticulture.
Awards were presented to key contributors across the horticulture sector. The IAHS Fellowship was conferred on Padma Shri Amal Mahaling Nayak, while the IAHS Corporate Fellowship was awarded to Jain Irrigation Systems Ltd. The Dr. KL Chadda Memorial Award went to Dr. Narayana Chawda, and the Shivashakthi Lifetime Achievement Awards were presented to Dr. VA Parthasarathi and Dr. WS Dhillon. In total, 27 individuals were honoured this year, along with Jain Irrigation Systems Ltd. Additionally, the Best Research Paper Award–2024 was presented to a team of six scientists.
The four day event will host scientific discussions under 11 sections across nine theme areas, farmer interactions and multiple workshops, including a Kisan Sarathi workshop. Around 25 stalls from GKVK and Krishi Vigyan Kendras are showcasing technologies and innovations from various horticulture research institutes under the ICAR Horticultural Sciences Division.