The Regional Agricultural Research Station (RARS), Pilicode, Kasaragod, known for its pioneering research and development of new varieties of coconut, cashew, mango, pepper and high yielding paddy, is gearing up for its centenary celebrations.
Set up as twin coconut research centres at Pilicode and Neeleswaram by the then Madras government in 1916, the institution was transferred to the Kerala Agricultural University in 1972 and elevated as a regional research station in 1980.
RARS, Pilicode, is the first institution in the world to have succeeded in developing a hybrid coconut variety, the TxD. It went on to develop five other high-yielding varieties of coconut, saline-tolerant types of paddy, and the Jaiva organic paddy.
Gene bank
RARS has a gene bank of 75 coconut varieties as well as that of the Kasaragod Dwarf and the Malabari goat.
The centenary celebrations of RARS, Pilicode, will take off on Thursday with Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, Revenue Minister E. Chandrasekharan and Agriculture Minister V.S. Sunil Kumar planting coconut saplings on the Secretariat premises. A series of seminars and workshops have been scheduled till the end of October.
