BARC to showcase technological achievements in agriculture and food sciences

India's premier atomic energy research institution Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (BARC) will showcase its achievements in the fields of agriculture and food sciences at an exhibition Friday in Mumbai as part of the National Technology Day celebrations.

The National Technology Day is celebrated May 11 every year. However, BARC's exhibition will be inaugurated May 10 by Ashish Bahuguna, secretary-agriculture and cooperation in the union agriculture ministry.

The theme of this year's National Technology Day celebration will be agriculture and food security and BARC's contribution to that.

BARC has used radiation technologies for development of new crop varieties like cereals, pulses and oil seeds that offers high yields, matures early and disease resistant.

"BARC has specifically carved a niche in the development of new varieties of pulses and oil seeds as they have contributed 15 varieties of groundnuts, three varieties of mustard, two of soyabean and one of sunflower among the oil seeds, eight varieties of greengram, four varieties of tur (pigeonpea), five of blackgram and one chavali (cowpea) among pulses," it said in a statement.

According to BARC, it has developed several protocols for micro propagation - a technique for large-scale rapid plant multiplication- of elite varieties of banana.

On the preservation of farm produce post-harvest, BARC said treatment with gamma radiation or electron beams results in disinfestations of pests in stored products, delayed ripening of fruits enabling exports, inhibition of sprouting in potatoes and onions, and destruction of food spoiling bacteria, parasites and pathogens.