Sri Vijaya Puram, March 6: A one-day hands-on training programme on “Nursery Raising Techniques for Quality Seedling Production of Vegetable Crops” was organized on 03 March 2026 at ICAR-Central Island Agricultural Research Institute, Garacharma Campus under the Tribal Sub Plan (TSP) Scheme of the ICAR-All India Coordinated Research Project on Vegetable Crops. The programme aimed to enhance the knowledge and skills of tribal farmers, farm women, and rural youth on scientific nursery raising techniques for producing healthy vegetable seedlings. A total of 23 farmers from Car Nicobar participated in the programme. In his address, Dr. Jai Sunder, Director, ICAR-CIARI emphasized the importance of promoting vegetable cultivation in the islands to improve the nutritional security and livelihood of tribal communities. He encouraged farmers to include vegetables in their daily diet and adopt scientific nursery raising techniques demonstrated during the training. He also urged the participants to share the knowledge gained with other farmers in their villages and expressed confidence that the hands-on demonstrations would enhance their practical understanding of quality seedling production.
Dr. Raj Narayan, Head, Division of Horticulture and Crop Improvement and Coordinator of the programme highlighted the importance of scientific nursery management and emphasized that quality seedlings are essential for better crop establishment and higher productivity. The technical session was conducted Dr. Y. Ramakrishna, Dr. Puneeth P. V., Dr. P. Prabhu, Dr. Manoj Kumar, and Mr. Mohit. The experts explained nursery bed preparation, seed treatment, sowing methods, seedling management, and plant protection practices. Hands-on demonstrations were also conducted, and farmers actively participated in the practical sessions. The programme was coordinated Mr. Mohit, SMS, KVK South Andaman and Dr. Santosh Kumar, Head, KVK Nicobar, who delivered the vote of thanks. Critical agricultural inputs such as vegetable seed kits (six vegetable seeds), battery-operated sprayers, and grow bags were distributed to the farmers to promote scientific vegetable cultivation.