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Concerned over the drastic fall of orange production in Jampui hills in North Tripura, the state government has adopted scientific methods for increasing the output of the fruit.
"It has been observed that productivity of orange plants has come down in Jampui hills and the areas under cultivation have also shrunk as fruit farmers have turned to other profit-making crops like coffee, beetle nuts and ginger," state Agriculture Minister Aghore Debbarma said.
In consultation with the experts from the National Research Centre for Citrus (NRCC), the state horticulture department has started distributing artificially grafted orange plants and fertilizers, besides extending facilities for irrigation.
The department has distributed 1.97 lakh saplings to farmers in the recent past, he said.
"Earlier, orange was produced in 12000 hectares of land, which now has come down to 492 hectares," he said.
However, orange cultivation has recently expanded in Ampi and Killa blocks of Gomati district and Sakhan hills of Dhalai district with the help of the ICAR.
Earlier, more than 60 tonnes of oranges were produced on 12000 hectares, officials said.
