Koppal: Horticulture dept growing high immunity pomegranates based on Israeli tech

Kushtagi: The Horticulture Department is growing a new breed of pomegranates here using Israeli technology that are highly immune to the ‘Early saffron disease.’

Around 250 plants are grown in concrete rings in fertile soil supplemented with light nutrient mixture in a greenhouse.

Usually, better varieties of pomegranates were cultivated using the old cut and graft method. However, with the new Israeli technology, the pomegranates saplings itself are grafted with high immune varieties.

Anjaneya Das from the Horticulture Department states that the demand for disease-free saplings is being met this new variety.

Krishna Ukunda, deputy director of the Horticulture Department, led the use of the Israeli technology in growing this variety. Interested farmers can contact the Horticulture Department to procure the new variety, he added.