National Horticulture Board Team Visits Nauni’s Fruit Science Nursery for Accreditation
2 min read
December 14, 2025
A team from the National Horticulture Board (NHB) visited the Department of Fruit Science, Dr YS Parmar University of Horticulture and Forestry, Nauni, to carry out inspection and accreditation of the university nursery.
The visiting team was chaired by Dr Y. C. Gupta, Consultant-cum-Chairman, and comprised Dr S. K. Chaurasia, Deputy Director, NHB Shimla; Dr Anurag Sharma, Krishi Vigyan Kendra, Solan; Dr Anjali Katoch, ADO , along with other NHB representatives.
Dr Devina Vaidya, Director Research, Dr Jitender Chauhan, Head, Department of Fruit Science, along with Dr Vishal Rana, Joint Director Research, Dr Naveen Sharma, Dr Gopal Singh and Dr Pramod Verma escorted the team through various nursery units, gene bank and mother blocks of major temperate fruit crops. These included apple, kiwi, plum, peach, nectarine, walnut, persimmon and cherry.
The Department of Fruit Science is one of the premier nurseries of temperate fruit crops in the region, spread over a total area of 6.7 hectares. Nursery plants are raised on more than 4.5 hectares, while gene banks and mother blocks of important fruit varieties are maintained over an area of about 2.2 hectares. During the visit, the NHB team also reviewed the ongoing research activities of the department and assessed the modern methods and techniques being adopted for nursery raising. The team was briefed on various research initiatives and field trials being conducted for the introduction of new fruit crops for inclusion in farmers’ fields.
Over the past three decades, the department has supplied lakhs of quality fruit plants to farmers across Himachal Pradesh and neighbouring states. At present, the department maintains a rich diversity of fruit crops, including more than 68 varieties of apple, 10 varieties of plum, 12 varieties of apricot, 15 varieties of peach and nectarine, 10 varieties of walnut, 5 varieties of kiwi, 6 varieties of cherry and 2 varieties of persimmon.
