Department of Biotechnology Ministry of Science & Technology Government of India has called for proposals on “Biotech Interventions in Citrus of North East Region”.

 

Under DBT’s Horticulture Mission Programme for NER The North Eastern Region is the centre of origin of citrus fruits. A vast reservoir of Citrus diversity largely exists in wild and semi-wild form, largely due to favourable edaphic and climatic condition of the region. Due to population pressure and changing climatic conditions, there is genetic erosion of these valuable resources and with many of them on the verge of extinction.

 

Hence, there is a need to conserve these rare and endangered resources of Citrus of NE region and also to characterize, evaluate and screen them against biotic and abiotic stresses for future use in the Citrus improvement programme. Despite the large diversity of citrus and favourable conditions for its cultivation in the NE region, the productivity of the NER-Citrus is far below the national average.

 

There is a need to carry out interventions through biotechnology tools to address various challenges being faced by NER Citrus growers, especially in the widely cultivated species such as Khasi Mandarin, Assam Lemon, Sweet oranges etc.

 

To conserve endemic citrus and to promote sustainable cultivation of the commercially important NER Citrus in the region the Department proposes to support R&D proposals.

 

Deadline for submission of the proposal: 31st March 2020.

Contact for further information:

· Dr. Vaishali Panjabi, Scientist ‘E’, DBT, New Delhi

· Dr. Amit Kumar Yadav, Scientist ‘C’, DBT, New Delhi ·

Email: nerdiv@dbt.nic.in ;

Tel. : +91-11-24360295 2

To conserve endemic citrus and to promote sustainable cultivation of the commercially important NER Citrus in the region DBT has offered to support R&D proposals under the same.