Advances in Controlled Atmospheric Storage: Experts discuss trends at SKUAST-Kashmir

28 September 2023

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Srinagar, Sept 28: One Day brainstorming session on “Advances in Controlled Atmospheric Storage and Marketing of Horticulture Produce” was held today at Sher-e-Kashmir University of Agricultural Sciences & Technology, Shalimar Campus, Srinagar under HADP project on Innovative Extension Approaches for Promoting Agriculture. The session was organized by Division of Food Science & Technology in collaboration with the Directorate of Planning and Monitoring. The major objective of the session was to bring all the stake holders, academia, and CA store owners on a single platform to discuss about the possibility of application of controlled atmospheric storage for exotic apple varieties, dynamic CA stores, packaging and marketing for handling diverse kinds of horticultural produce.

Prof. H. R. Naik (Director Planning & Monitoring) presented welcome address in the inaugural ceremony which was presided over by Prof. N. A. Ganai, (Vice Chancellor, SKUAST-K). Prof. N. A. Ganai, in his presidential address stressed that besides favorable government policies, following of good agricultural practices is necessary to make agricultural a profitable venture. There is need to introduce concepts of artificial intelligence and machine learning in various agricultural operations. He informed the house about new education model being adopted in the University which focuses on innovations, entrepreneurship, and startup culture. He stressed on need for strengthening linkages between industry and academia to solve problems faced by horticulture industry. Zahoor Ahmad (Joint Director of Horticulture), informed that common farmers are not having access to the CA stores due to their limited capacity and the CA store capacity needs to be increased to 10 Lakh MT. Prof. S.Z. Hussain, (Head, Division of FST), gave a brief account about the CA store industry in J&K. Professor T.H. Masoodi (Director of Research at SKUAST-K), congratulate the organizers for conducting the event and gave details about production and processing scenario of horticultural crops in J&K. Prof. Nazir Ahmed Mir (Rutgers University, USA), gave a detailed presentation on “Postharvest management of apples for real time marketing and branding.” He stressed on establishing horticulture products as a brand, and year-round supply of high-quality produce is important. Therefore, regulation of supplies to the market is essential for making better profits for which tie up with other apple producing states of the country is also required. He highlighted the significance of 1-MCP in revolutionizing the post-harvest handling of apples. One of the main challenges highlighted by participating CA store owners was non-uniformity of produce in terms of maturity and quality. Prof. Nazir proposed that a full-fledged Maturity Programme funded by the industry should be started by SKUAST-K. Mr. Sanjay Gupta (Director Infra Cool) gave detailed presentation on future scope of CA Technology in J&K. Majid Wafai (President CA Stores Association) discussed about the status and constraints of CA Stores in Kashmir. Lastly, vote of thanks was delivered by Prof. S. A. Wani (Dean, Faculty of Horticulture).