About Department
The Department of Vegetable Science of horticultural College and Research Institute, Periyakulam was established in 2006 and caters to the teaching, research and extension activities. The department offers courses on vegetable cultivation, breeding, protected cultivation, plant protection for UG and PG degree programmes. Theni belt, being a vegetable production hub, research has been carried out in crop improvement of popular vegetable crops viz., tomato, chillies, gourds, moringa and cowpea. The department is the primary seed production centre for vegetable crop varieties released from HC&RI, Periyakulam. Both breeder seeds and truthfully labelled seeds are being produced and supplied to the farmers from all overIndia.
Vision
- To teach courses on vegetable improvement and management to the UG and PG students
- To offer post graduate degree programme of M.Sc. (Horticulture) Vegetable Science
- To evolve new varieties with high yield and quality and standardize production technologies in vegetable crops suitable for this belt
- To produce quality breeder seed and foundation seed of different vegetable crops
- To focus frontier research to improve the yield and quality, post harvest technologies of moringa
- To disseminate the technologies in vegetable crops to extension functionaries, growers and entrepreneur through trainings demonstrations, publications and mass media
Mission
- Offering courses for Undergraduate students on botany of vegetables, vegetable production technology and breeding aspects
- Offering M.Sc. Horticulture (Vegetable Science) degree programme
- Guiding the research programme of M.Sc. Horticulture (Vegetable Science) and Ph.D Horticulture (Vegetable Science) students
- Evolving high yielding varieties and hybrids through conventional and biotechnological approaches
- Developing new technologies for improving yield and quality
- Breeder seed production on released varieties of vegetables
- Production of TFL vegetable seeds through contract farming approach and supply to needy farmers
- Disseminating the latest technologies through training and seminars to the farmers and entrepreneurs
Mandates
- To conduct research on Crop improvement, Crop management, Crop protection and Post- harvest management of vegetables
Mandatory Crops: Tomato, Brinjal, Chilli, Onion, Moringa, Bitter gourd, Ridge gourd, Vegetable Cowpea and Cluster bean
- To develop high yielding varieties / hybrids with high quality and tolerance to major biotic and abiotic stresses
- To develop improved technologies to increase the yield and quality with high benefit cost ratio
- To produce and supply quality seeds of mandate vegetables
- To disseminate the latest technological knowhow in vegetables to the extension functionaries and farmers of this region