State sets target to produce about 50 lakh potato seeds
Kolkata: In a significant stride towards self-sufficiency in potato seed production, the state Agriculture department has set a target of producing 50 lakh high quality potato seeds through ARC (Apical Rooted Cutting) technology in this fiscal.
“It is the vision of Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee to be self-reliant in potato seeds production and stop imports from Haryana, Punjab, Uttar Pradesh. We are taking assistance from Peru headquartered CIP (International Potato Centre) for producing virus-free potato seeds through ARC technology. We have set a 2030 target to become self-sufficient in potato seed production,” Sobhandeb Chattopadhyay, state Agriculture minister said after chairing a meeting with expert scientists and researchers on Wednesday at Nabanna. The ARC technology was initiated in 2023-24 when 3.5 lakh seeds were distributed in 13 districts to 57 project partners.
Becharam Manna, state Agricultural Marketing minister who was present in the meeting, extended all possible assistance to the Agriculture department for earmarking a separate chamber in the department’s cold storages, wherever required for preservation of potato seeds.
A senior official of the department said that availability of tissue culture plants remains a limiting factor for scaling up production in hi-tech potato seed production systems. ARC is the answer to this constraint.
ARC are rooted transplants produced in a screen house from tissue culture platelets. Rather than allowing tissue culture platelets to mature and produce mini tubers, cuttings are produced from the plantlet. Once rooted, the cuttings are transplanted into the field to produce seed tubers.
Chattopadhyay said that his department has sought expert opinion on the type and knowhow of cultivation of paddy in areas like Purulia and Bankura where availability of adequate water for cultivation of paddy is a challenge.
The experts have been asked to prepare a plan on augmenting production of seeds of pulses, maize and mustard in the state with the plan of being self-reliant in this respect too.
