Thomas Biotech participated in the Bengaluru Tech Summit held at the Bengaluru Palace from 16-18 Nov. 22 with an exhibitor stall. The stall was housed at the IBioM Pavilion in the Start-Up category. We received an overwhelming response with a large number of visitors displaying interest in Agri-Biotech. The exhibit items included Tissue Culture papaya ‘Dawn Delight’ (dwarf female line with seedless parthenocarpic fruits), micropropagated elite pomegranate ‘Super Bhagwa’, and the new product acid lime ‘TB-NIMBU’, all of which were well received by the visitors.
One major limiting factor for papaya cultivation is the damage caused by Papaya Ring Spot Virus (PRSV). We introduced the ‘Plant Net Cages’ for the virus-protected terrace and homestead cultivation of papayas guarding against this dreaded virus disease. Individual plants of dwarf-type awn Delight papaya could be well protected from PRSV with the use of net cages and this was exhibited in the stall with the use of grow-bag papaya plants in the bearing stage. This may appear expensive, but on the other hand, the assured good return is a major encouraging factor. The net cages were supplied along with the DD plants at the stall. The package for net cultivation with the return on investment estimates was explained to the visitors. We consider Net-cage mediated terrace or homestead cultivation, or the poly-house/net-house based protected cultivation as the only way forward for papaya cultivation wherever PRSV disease is a serious threat. The net cages are covered by ‘Design IP’.
