Patna: The State’s Minister of Sugarcane Industry, Alok Kumar Mehta, conducted an official visit to the Sugarcane Breeding Institute in Coimbatore, accompanied by the departmental research team. During the visit, Narmadeshwar Lal, the principal secretary of the department, Rakesh Ranjan, joint director, and Jay Prakash Narayan Singh, joint commissioner, were present, reported Live Hindustan.
The Director of the institute, Dr. G. Hemaprabha, and Chief (Crop Production), Dr. K. Kanan, provided the departmental team with information on new varieties of sugarcane. Minister Mehta expressed the need for developing sugarcane varieties based on Bihar’s climate conditions, especially considering floods and climate change. The cultivation of improved sugarcane varieties is crucial to increasing sugarcane productivity and production in Bihar.
In Coimbatore, the minister observed the production process of sugarcane seeds and learned about the development of new varieties. The institute’s director and other scientists demonstrated scientific techniques, including the production of freeze-dried sugarcane juice, spray-dried sugarcane juice, making jam from sugarcane juice, manufacturing liquid jaggery, producing biscuits from sugarcane fiber, making ice cream from sugarcane juice, and developing powdered jaggery.
The scientists also briefed the departmental team on the patented scientific techniques and technologies developed by the institute, which are made available to industrial units. Minister Mehta was informed about the sugarcane variety CE0-0238, widely cultivated in Bihar, being affected by the red rot disease. He urged the institute’s director to focus on developing advanced sugarcane varieties for waterlogged areas.
Furthermore, Minister Mehta emphasized the importance of developing sophisticated machinery for treating sugarcane seeds to prevent diseases. The minister expressed the need to create equipment for treating sugarcane seeds to safeguard sugarcane crops from diseases.
