Kalimpong is a small beautiful mountain town in northern West Bengal but the locals insist their homeland be called Gorkhaland. This town that overlooks Sikkim from one of its high spots, has been historically important for exchange between India and its neighbours — Bhutan, Tibet and China.
The surrounding farms have been famous for a delicious variety of mandarin oranges called Darjeeling mandarins. But, for the past decade, yields and flavours have been decreasing due to viral infections spreading across orchards. As a result, the agrarian economy is shrinking.
Natasha Gurung has been trying to save the local mandarins from disappearing at the Kalimpong branch of the Indian Agricultural Research Institute (IARI), lovingly called ‘virus office’ around town.
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The broad scientific field they work under is agricultural science. Agricultural scientists are primarily horticulturists who genetically improve (not genetically modify) crop varieties by cross-breeding them to get the best hybrids. This is their pure scientific goal: to improve crop varieties so yield is maximum, pests are kept at bay and quality is top-notch. They also make sure that farmers are up to date with the latest technologies so that farming in the country is efficient and profitable.
Research
Natasha surveys the orchards in the area to first identify the viruses causing the nuisance, then distinguish the trees infected from those considered “superior planting material” that can be used for cross-breeding to make healthier varieties of Darjeeling mandarins. “After identifying superior genotypes in the area, we will multiply them by tissue culture, distribute them to farmers and certify the varieties,” Natasha says. Along with this, they have the responsibility of developing and training farmers in technologies to keep the infections away and enjoy higher yields. She plans on putting to use the peels of the mandarins for citrus oil production in the area.
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Education
Natasha grew up in Sikkim, a three-hour drive from where she lives and works. She moved here after six months of training at the Delhi headquarters of IARI. Before that, she pursued her post-graduate education at the University of Horticultural Sciences, Bagalkot in Karnataka, and then completed her Ph.D. research work on passion fruits at Bidhan Chandra Krishi Viswavidyalaya in West Bengal.
The author is a science writer and co-founder of The Life of Science project. To know about women scientists in India and their research, visit the thelifeofscience.com.