Banana Tissue Culture Technology: PARC conducts training course to promote disease free banana plant production

ISLAMABAD, April 12: Pakistan Agricultural Research Council (PARC) making efforts to improve the banana crop in the country through tissue culture technology to produce disease free banana plants. Banana is an important fruit crop of Pakistan. This was stated by Dr. Ghulam Muhammad Ali, Acting Director General National Agricultural Research Cetnre (NARC) while addressing the inaugural session of three-day training course on Banana Tissue Culture Technology on Tuesday here at NARC.
Dr. G. M. Ali said there was increasing demand for tissue culture plants from farmer’s community and PARC alone cannot meet this demand. Highlighting the importance of course, he said that after completion of the course, trainees will be potential entrepreneurs and will establish their own tissue culture business.
The Training course was organized by In-vitro Conservation and Micropropagation Programme of Plant Genetic Resources Institute (PGRI) NARC. Twenty participants from different universities, private labs and students participated in this course.
On this occasion, Dr. Aish Muhammad, Principal Scientific Officer/course organizer highlighted the importance of banana tissue culture and said that a series of such courses will be organized at NARC, Thatta and Tandojam in Sindh Province.
On this occasion, Dr. Muhammad Riaz Chattha, Director (Short Courses) said that keeping in view the increasing number of participants, more such events will be organized in the coming days. Dr. Muhammad Naeemullah, Director (PGRI) NARC briefed about the tissue culture facilities at PGRI NARC and other out-station Centres of PARC.-PR