Sri Vijaya Puram, Oct. 16: Spices are an integral part of the economy of Andaman and Nicobar Islands. Indian Bay Leaf, popularly called as tejpat or tejpatta, is an important tree spice that is widely being used in the preparation of vegetarian and non-vegetarian cuisines. It is equally popular in the household as well as commercial cooking. Islands being a tourist dominated economy, promotion of this crop would not only help in boosting income levels of the island farmers but would also provide quality produce to the local hoteliers.
In order to promote cultivation of spice crops, adoption of improved techniques is imperative. Quality planting material being the major prerequisite in the scientific cultivation, it is desirable for the islands to be self-sufficient in planting material production. Interestingly, tejpat being a native species of the foothills of the Himalayas doesn’t flower or set fruits in the island conditions unlike cinnamon- a botanically closely related spice grown in the islands. In such condition, traditional seed propagation in tejpat, which is easily possible in other parts of the country is not possible in the islands.
In order to address this issue, researchers at ICAR-CIARI- Dr. Ajit Arun Waman and Dr. Pooja Bohra standardized the technique of air layering in tejpat. However, this technique is season-bound in nature; that means, it could be carried out with high success only during rainy season. In order to break this season-dependency barrier, the team further developed a novel approach of round the year planting material production- christened as Dweep Goottee 365. This technique has been proven to help in off-season planting material production in a number of other horticultural crops as well. Further, ICAR-CIARI has developed the first improved variety of tejpat in the country- Dweep Tej 1. For multiplication of such elite material, these techniques are mandatory.
In order to transfer these scientific advancements for the benefit of the farming community, ICAR-CIARI organized a need-based training programme entitled ‘Dweep Goottee 365 Technology for Multiplication of Indian Bay Leaf’ on October 14, 2026 for the officials of the Department of Agriculture, UT Administration based on the request received from the department.