Centre of Excellence for potato to come up in Jalandhar

Punjab will set up an ultra modern Centre of Excellence for potato crop at village Dhogri of Jalandhar district.
It will be set up under the aegis of Indo-Dutch joint agriculture workgroup with a focus on quality seed potato, suitable farm mechanisation and proper disease management technologies.
To be spread over 23.5 hectares of land, this centre will be constructed at a cost of Rs 7.85 crore, said an official spokesman.
The centre of excellence will have tissue culture, net houses, cold storage, laboratory for routine tests, drip fustigation, solar pumps, planting machines along grading and packing equipments, he said.

This centre will become fully functional by the end of this year, he said.
The spokesman said with the adoption of proposed technologies to be followed in the centre of excellence, the potatoes would remain free for 16 kinds of virus and its shelf life will also increase.
"The seed will be produced in air instead of soil by making a mini-tuber, which would be further germinated and hardened in the net house," he said.