Bhaderwah, June 9: Continuing with the initiative to make Bhaderwah, the “Valley of flowers,” scientists of CSIR-IIIM led by Dr Iqra Farooq under union government’s Floriculture Mission visited marigold fields, distributed seeds among farmers, beside they also successfully introduced high yielding cut flower variety – Lilium here.
The CSIR Indian Institute of Integrative Medicine has made significant strides in the cultivation of various varieties of flowers including marigold, Gladiolus, Lilium, Lavander and Bulgarian rose in Bhadarwah valley as part of the CSIR Floriculture Mission.
This initiative marks a noteworthy achievement as it’s the first time the CSIR-IIIM has successfully undertaken the trial cultivation of multiple Lillium varieties here.
Dr Iqra Farooq said that it is heartwarming to see the success story in the field of growing different varieties of exotic and commercially viable flowers.
“First it was Lavander and Marigold, now is the turn of Lilium which we introduced last year here under Pan India Floriculture Mission. It is a great sight to see the results as the Lillium bulbs we distributed here last year have developed into best quality of buds. This is surely a new leaf into the success story of Floriculture Mission,” said Dr Iqra Farooq of CSIR-IIIM.
Dr Iqra stressed that the favourable climatic and soil conditions of the Kashmir Valley make it suitable for Lilium cultivation, presenting significant economic opportunities and establishing the region as a center for high-quality flower production.