The 75th-anniversary celebrations of the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) - Central Plantation Crops Research Institute (CPCRI), Regional Station, Kayamkulam, will begin on Sunday.
The year-long celebrations will be virtually inaugurated by Agriculture Minister P. Prasad at 9.30 a.m.
The foundation stone of the institute, mandated to conduct research on coconut, was laid by Sree Uthradom Thirunal Marthanda Varma on April 24, 1947.
The research on coconut palm disease was started in 1937 by a team led by M.K. Varghese at the Agricultural Research Laboratory at Kollam and field station at Kayamkulam with funding from the Imperial Council of Agricultural Research.
"Following an extraordinary demand for coconut after World War II, the Indian Central Coconut Committee was formed in February 1945 and in their third sitting on April 1946 recommended the formation of Central Coconut Research Stations at Kayamkulam and Kasaragod. K.P.V. Menon became the first director and founding stalwarts such as K.M. Pandalai, K.K. Nirula and T.A. Davis toiled tirelessly to accomplish the research targets in the initial years. The ICAR took over the institute in the 1970s and it became a regional station of the ICAR-CPCRI with headquarters at Kasaragod," says Joseph Rajkumar A., pr. scientist, ICAR-CPCRI, Regional Station, Kayamkulam.
The regional station has been mandated to undertake research on the root (wilt) disease, other pests and diseases to evolve sustainable management strategies, develop tolerant coconut varieties against biotic stresses, agro-techniques and system approaches to enhance palm health and disseminate research outcomes to the farming communities.
The station now has 11 scientists, 10 technical officials, seven administrative staff and 11 skilled support staff. The Krishi Vigyan Kendra, Alappuzha, is attached to the regional station for effective translation of technologies to farmers.
Some of the major research accomplishments of the institute include the development of coconut varieties — Kalparaksha, Kalpasree and disease-tolerant hybrid Kalpasankara having high yield; development of tissue culture protocol for production of coconut seedlings from immature inflorescence explant and planted in the field; development of ground pollination technique for assisted pollination with minimum climbing; distribution of QR coded coconut seedlings for digital traceability and so on.
A book, The Coconut Palm — A Monograph, by K.P.V. Menon and K.M. Pandalai published in 1958 is another big contribution from the Institute. .
