Considering the role of quality planting material in accelerating the pace of area expansion and achieving the desired productivity level in dragon fruit under diverse agroclimatic conditions of Odisha, a training program on “Scientific raising of dragon fruit nursery” was organized by CHES (ICAR-IIHR), Bhubaneswar on 18th February, 2024 under MIDH funded project entitled “Establishment of a mother block and model nursery for production of QPM of dragon fruit in Odisha”. The training was organized with the aim of developing entrepreneurial capability of fruit growers. Forty farmers from District Puri, Odisha attended the training program. Dr. G. C. Acharya, Head, highlighted the significance and scope of dragon fruit nursery in Odisha, while various aspects of scientific raising of dragon fruit, viz., mother Block development, QPM production, and nursery management were covered by Dr. Deepa Samant, Senior Scientist. Dr. P. Srinivas, Principal Scientist and Dr. Satyapriya Singh, Scientist spoke about disease management and Insect pest management, respectively. Participants visited mother block and nursery of dragon fruit for practical training on planting material production. The training program was ended with the feedback from participants. Participants expressed their satisfaction over training program and realized the importance of QPM of dragon fruit in enhancing production and farm income. The program was coordinated by Dr. Deepa Samant with the help of Abhimanyu Das, Technical Officer, and project staff Ms. Rajshree Sahoo, Ms. Payal, and Mr. Dibya Ranjan Das.
