The Hyderabad Metropolitan Development Authority (HMDA) is planning to set up two scion bank nurseries in Moinabad mandal towards providing high-value grafted fruit seedling to farmers and home gardens at an affordable price.
It has a similar nursery at Tellapur, spread over 50 acres, which has 60,000 mango grafts of nearly 13 different varieties apart from other fruits such as pomegranate, ‘kala jamun’, ‘sapota’ and seedless lemon. These grafts in the size of three feet to five feet are offered at a price of Rs.16 each.
Tellapur scion bank nursery which has four blocks earmarked to propagate grafts for mango varieties including ‘Benishan’, ‘Mallika’, ‘Himayat’ and ‘Dasheri’ and other blocks for six varieties of ‘kala ‘jamun’, tamarind and ‘usiri’. “We raise high value grafted fruit seedlings through approach, bud and veneer grafting techniques for farmers, individuals and also for supply to different agencies,” said an official.
The HMDA is now looking at replicating the Tellapur initiative at two more locations in Moinabad with a 50 acre site at Peddamangalaram village and 100 acres at Kanakamamidi village at an estimated cost of Rs.20 crore. “In the two new projects, we have drawn plans to have sector-wise development for different graft seedlings and will ensure high quality such as at Tellapur facility,” said HMDA Director (Urban Forestry), M. Raja Ramana Reddy.
The HMDA Commissioner, Neerabh Kumar Prasad, said the land sites identified for new nurseries at Moinabad were government lands that are covered under conservation zone regulations of the GO 111. “The government has sent our plans to the Revenue Department and we are awaiting necessary orders and once we get possession of land, the work will start,” he added.
As part of the urban afforestation initiative, the urban planning body over the decades has come up with a total of 10 big and small nurseries in the city which together boast of a collection of nearly 14 lakh seedlings. These nurseries include the Tall Plant Nursery at Erragadda which has more than four lakh seedlings of tall plant varieties from ceremonial to avenue plantation.
