National Innovation Foundation-India (NIF) developed ten varieties of Anthurium, a flower with high market value, by cross-pollination. It was developed by D Vasini Bai, a women innovator from Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala. She had developed large and medium-size flowers with uncommon color combinations of spathe and spadix. This institution has developed a new method for raising the seedlings in limited space using corrugated asbestos sheets.
Salient features of the Anthurium varieties are: they are large beautiful flowers with different colors of spathe and spadix and long stalks. The plant has a better shelf life and good market value.
Anthurium:
Anthurium (Anthurium spp.) is a vast group of blooming plants that is available in a wide range of colors. The plants of the varieties have high demands due to its use as an indoor decorative plant. The plant removes harmful airborne chemicals like formaldehyde, ammonia, toluene, xylene, and allergens. NASA has placed it in the list of air purifier plants because of its nature.
In 2019, over 8500 plants and the flowers were sold to the market of mainly Pune and Thiruvananthapuram. The innovator has been propagating it through cuttings & seeds and supplying some plants and flowers throughout the country, but she was unable to meet the demand due to the time-consuming technique of propagation method.
National Innovation Foundation-India (NIF):
NIF was established in 2000. It functions under the Department of Science and Technology (DST), Government of India. NIF is located in Gandhinagar, Gujarat. It provides institutional support for spawning, sustaining, scouting, and scaling up the grassroots innovations across the country.
