Regional Center (ISARC) at
campus of National Seed Research
and Training Center (NSRTC) in
Varanasi.
Under the proposal, a Centre of
Excellence in Rice Value Addition
(CERVA) will be set up in Varanasi.
This will include a modern and
sophisticated laboratory with
capacity to determine quality
and status of heavy metals in
grain and straw. The Centre will
also undertake capacity building
exercises for stakeholders across
the rice value chain.
This Center will be the first
International Center in the eastern
India and it will play a major
role in harnessing and sustaining
rice production in the region. It
is expected to be a boon for food
production and skill development
in the eastern India and similar
ecologies in other South Asian and
African countries.
NEW WAY TO GROW SANDAL
TREES COULD BOOST
PRODUCTION
Cultivation of sandalwood trees
could get a boost with Indian
researchers figuring out how sandal
trees derive their nutrition from
other plants.
Sandalwood is a parasitic
plant deriving its nutritional
requirement from other plants.
It has modified roots called
haustoria which penetrate
host plants and draw nutrition
from them. Scientists from the
College of Forestry and College
of Horticulture under Kerala
has approved the establishment
of the International Rice Research
Institute (IRRI), South Asia
Agricultural University in Thirussur
have found out how sandal trees
suck nutritional food from their
host plants.
The study has revealed that a
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