Israel man know-how on horticulture in india

An Israeli expert checked out this town on Wednesday, but the visit had nothing to do with the security scenario here.He was here to help the State give a big push to its horticultural sector. The visit was arranged by the Tamil Nadu Government through its horticultural department.Israeli horticulture expert Cliff Love, who is attached to his country’s ministry of agriculture and rural development, and specialises in subtropical orchards of mango, avocado and lychee, interacted with horticulture farmers in this district and shared his knowledge with them. With TN officials in tow, Love visited many mango groves at Bargur, Mathur, Ikadu and other places in Uthangarai and Krishnagiri on Wednesday. Love asked the farmers about the mode of mango cultivation in the Krishnagiri belt, which is the biggest producer of the fruit in it in the State. He tried to understand their problems and suggest solutions.Talking to Express, Love said he would check the suitability of high-density planting under rain-fed conditions. He would look into the possibility of implementing special practices for rain-fed conditions followed in Israel, in Tamil Nadu’s mango belt. Love would also chalk out methods for rejuvenating old orchards suitable for the area. There again, Love would try to implement the methods followed in Israel. Next only to ragi, mango is a major product in Krishnagiri district. The farmers have covered 30,017 hectares under mango cultivation. The entire stretch of Bargur, Uthangarai, Pochampalli, Krishnagiri, Mathur, Singarapettai and Veppanapalli has thousands of hectares under mango cultivation. In fact, the mango pulp industry in Krishnagiri district is the second largest in the country, the first being Chittoor in Andhra Pradesh. The district accounts for around 30 per cent of the Rs 400 to Rs 500-crore foreign exchange earned through mango pulp exports every year. The National Horticultural Mission (NHM) has identified the region’s potential and has taken steps to promote mango cultivation here, said Subbian, Joint Director of Horticulture, who accompanied Love to the interior parts of mango groves in Bargur.Besides Tamil Nadu, Love has already visited the fields in Maharashtra and Haryana.