With a view to explore the possibility of expanding the area under litchi cultivation in the state of Odisha, stake holders meet on litchi was jointly organized by Central Horticultural experiment Station (ICAR-IIHR), Bhubaneswar and ICAR-National Research Centre on Litchi, Muzaffarpur, Bihar on 12th December, 2023. Farmers and government officials from 5 important litchi growing districts of the state, (Anugul, Bolangir, Deogarh, Sundargarh, and Sambhalpur) attended the event. Dr. G.C. Acharya, Head, CHES, Bhubaneswar highlighted the importance of the event. Dr. Prafulla Bhanj, DDH, Bolangir, presented the status of lichi cultivation in Odisha. The Guest of Honour, Dr. Bikash Das, Director, NRC on Litchi gave his insights on expansion of area under litchi in the state. The Chief Guest, Sri S. Bhol (Additional Director, Directorate of Horticulture, Govt. of Odisha) urged CHES, Bhubaneswar and NRC on Litchi to develop the roadmap for reviving and strengthening the litchi cultivation in the state. In the technical session, all participants shared their valuable inputs with respect to strengths of litchi cultivation in their respective area and difficulties, and constraints faced by the litchi growers. Their queries on various aspects of litchi cultivation, e.g., varietal identification, nutrient and water management, fruit cracking, alternate bearing, flowering and fruiting, diseases and insect pests were addressed by Dr. Bikash Das. He promised to come up with the roadmap in association with CHES, Bhubaneswar for reviving and scaling up the litchi cultivation in the state. The programme was coordinated by Dr. G. C. Acharya and co-coordinated by Dr. Deepa Samant, Senior Scientist with the help of Sri Manoj Pattnaik, Sri Anil Adamala and Sri Ashish Chakrabarty.
