A field day on Okra was organized at ICAR-IIVR, Varanasi by its Zonal Technology Management Unit on 3rd October, 2019 to showcase and commercialize the promising okra varieties, hybrids and advanced lines developed by the Institute. The event was inaugurated by Dr. D.P. Ray, Former Vice Chancellor, Odisha University of Agriculture and Technology, Bhubaneshwar (OUAT) and was attended by more than 30 breeders and marketing strategists from seventeen private vegetable seed-companies like Ankur Seeds, Mahyco Seeds, Advanta Seeds, Gemini Seeds, Eagle Seeds, Shipra Vegetables, Nunhems Seeds, JK Agri-Genetics, Metahelix Life Sciences, Sakata Seeds, Ascen Hyveg, Kalash Seeds, Doctor Seed, Sayaji Seeds, Lucky Seeds, Namdhari Seeds, Swarna Hybrids and others. The representatives’ of seed-companies visited the okra field of the Institute and appreciated the varieties, hybrids and other advanced breeding lines developed by the Institute. Kashi Lalima-the Red coloured Bhindi along with advance breeding lines tolerant to Okra Yellow Vein Mosaic Virus and Enation Leaf Curl Virus like VRO-120 and VRO-124 were the center of attraction for the delegates. The representatives critically observed the promising materials and expressed their desire to get some of the promising advanced breeding lines, combining virus-resistance and high-yield. The delegates thoroughly interacted with the team of scientists comprising of Dr. Pradip Karmakar, Dr. Vidya Sagar, Dr. Achuit Kumar Singh and Dr. Jaydeep Halder of the institute and provided valuable feedback on the current market needs of okra.
The Director, Dr. Jagdish Singh expressed his keen desire for an effective collaboration with the private sector in PPP mode to extend the technologies of the Institute into farmers’ field within the ambit of ICAR guidelines. He also assured the delegates to develop new technologies in accordance with the current market and consumer preference and input provided by the representatives. Dr. P.M. Singh, In-charge of Zonal Technology Management Unit of the ICAR-IIVR, Varanasi briefed the participants about the procedure and modalities to be taken care for providing the desired material to different organizations. Dr. Shailesh Kumar Tiwari coordinated the program and proposed the vote of thanks.