With suitable agro-climatic conditions for production of temperate bulbous flowers, the Kashmir valley is likely to reduce to half India’s import of flowers from other countries in next five years.
To minimise the imports, officials said Kashmir would see involvement of youth in flower production in rural areas. Notably, the Valley has advantage over other states in flower production as the region falls in a temperate zone.
“We have carved a niche in bulb production. In the next five years, we should be in a position to bring down the country’s flower imports by 50 per cent,” said Dr Nasir Masoodi, principal investigator, Sher-i-Kashmir University of Agriculture Sciences and Technology (SKUAST).