International workshop begins at PAU

Delegates from across India and abroad attended the inaugural ceremony of the workshop, which is being organised as a part of a cooperative venture between PAU and California State University (CSU), Fresno, US

A two-day India-US workshop on horticultural crops kicked off at the Punjab Agricultural University (PAU) in Ludhiana on Tuesday.

A two-day India-US workshop on horticultural crops kicked off at the Punjab Agricultural University (PAU) in Ludhiana on Tuesday (HT File)

Delegates from across India and abroad attended the inaugural ceremony of the workshop, which is being organised as a part of a cooperative venture between PAU and California State University (CSU), Fresno, US.

“With horticultural crops touching 28.04 million hectares area during 2021-22, Punjab has seen a massive jump in the area under fruit, vegetable and flower crops in the past three decades,” said the PAU vice-chancellor Satbir Singh Gosal. He underscored PAU’s pivotal role in boosting horticulture in the state.

He said that the university was making unceasing efforts to provide a leg-up to horticulture by developing varieties, their production and protection technologies and marketing strategies. A memorandum of understanding signed between PAU and CSU will benefit the faculty, students and research, he added.

Saúl Jiménez-Sandoval, president, of CSU, said that California produced 25% of the food in the US and has carved a niche in grapes production, besides being successful in farm mechanisation. Several producers and processors have done marvels in California, he observed, while hoping that the collaboration between PAU and CSU would open new doors for financial stability.

Drawing parallels between the climate of California and Punjab, he stressed upon the hazardous effects of fluctuating weather on the fruit crop health.