When someone says lady’s finger, green is the colour that comes to the mind. But the scientists at Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) - Indian Institute of Horticultural Research (IIHR) have come up with a purple variety of the vegetable.
The purple hybrid, which is yet to be named, is currently on display at the three-day National Horticulture Fair, which is taking place at IIHR. The variety looks exactly similar to the green lady’s finge
Pitchaimuthu M., principal scientist in the Division of Vegetable Crops, IIHR, said: “In general, people think of only green bhindis (lady’s finger). We developed a variant which was resistant to yellow vein mosaic virus 30 years ago. With changing consumer preferences, we wanted to come up with a niche product.”
He added: “Hence, in the last 10 years, we kept trying different lines of light and dark purple in bhindis and we have finally come up with this variant now. This variety has good fruit quality and is rich in anthocyanin and polyphenols which is a good antioxidant.” He also said that the variety was good in fibre and also has anti-cancerous and anti-diabetic properties.
It also has a high yield capacity of 15 tonnes per hectare. It is also resistant to root wilt disease and can be grown as potted plants too. The flowers will blossom in 45-50 days. “We are planning to release the variety in a month’s time. The lady’s finger can then be used in salads, or they can be fried and used in curries,” Mr. Pitchaimuthu said.
Popoulu banana for chips
While Nendran banana is usually used in making chips, the scientists at University of Horticultural Sciences, Bagalkot, are working on releasing a Popoulu variant of banana as a substitute for the former. While Nendran takes 308.43 days for cultivation, Popoulu will only take 297.77 days. These bananas, which are longer and thicker than the Nendran bananas, will weigh around 18.14 kg (one bunch). It also has a high yield capacity of 55.98 tonnes per hectare.
“In Kerala, this variety has already been studied and released. We are working on releasing the variant which is suitable to cultivation here. With less starch content (when compared to Nendran), Popoulu will give crisper chips like potato chips. It will also consume less oil,” Nataraj K.H., assistant professor at the university, told The Hindu.
This variety is also being displayed at the Horticulture Fair.
