Clean Plant program
✅With the demand for foreign planting materials of fruits like apples, avocados and blueberries rising over the years, the Central government plans to set up 10 ‘Clean Plant Centres’
✅Objective: To boost domestic production of the selected fruit crops
✅Services offered: disease diagnostic, therapeutics, multiplying of plants and generation of mother plants
✅Need for ‘Clean plant program’: Currently, it is difficult to get disease-free and genuine planting materials for horticultural crops in India.
✅Also, the process of importing plants is very cumbersome, as the imported plants must be kept in quarantine for two years.
✅Nodal Ministry: Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare
✅Implementing agency: National Horticulture Board (NHB)
✅Funding: 100% be Central government
✅It will be set up under the ‘Atmanirbhar Clean Plant Program’ (announced in Budget 2023-24).
