About

DST-NUTEC supported the Confederation of Indian Industries (CII), in organizing a training program on production practices and post-harvest handling techniques for exotic fruits such as Rambutan, Avocado, Mangosteen, dragon fruit, and longan on 14 July 2026 at the Ajantha Business Centre, Mangaluru. Mr. Adeeth Kalbavi, Director of Kalbavi Consumer Foods Pvt Ltd., Convenor of Agro-Food Panel of CII welcomed the gathering. Mr. Abhinav Bansal, the chairperson of the CII Mangalore district council, introduced CII and explained how CII acts as a point of contact for about 75 individuals, 15 institutes, and numerous associations that are part of the confederation
Dr. Iddya Karunasagar, introduced Nitte DST-TEC to the participants and mentioned its role in finding science based solutions to problems in different sectors and enabling technology development and deployment. He also introduced the resource persons, Dr B. M. Muralidhara, Senior Scientist (Fruit Science) and I/C Head, Central Horticultural Experiment Station (CHES), Chettalli, Kodagu, ICAR- Indian Institute of Horticultural Research (ICAR_ IIHR), Bangalore, and Dr. S. Vijay Rakesh Reddy, Senior Scientist, Division of Post-Harvest Technology & Agricultural Engineering, ICAR- IIHR, Bengaluru to the gathering.
Dr. Muralidhara, in his talk on ‘Production Challenges and Scientific Management Practices in Exotic Fruit Cultivation,’ discussed exotic fruits such as rambutan, dragon fruit, mangosteen, avocado, and longan. He explained about different varieties of these fruits as well as advantages and constraints with these varieties. He spoke about canopy management, spacing and use of soil testing to manage nutrients and fertilization. This session particularly focused on good agriculture practice techniques, including growth, fruit bearing, preventing diseases and managing bird problem. He also spoke about various diseases that affect fruit yield and quality, and suggested possible treatments for each. Throughout the lecture, the farmers raised many queries and Dr. Muralidhar provided solutions based on experience in IIHR farms.
Dr. Rakesh Reddy’s talk was on ‘Postharvest handling, packaging and transportation of exotic fruits for quality and shelf-life management’. He mainly focused on harvesting practices, including maturity indices, harvesting methods, processing operations, and storage conditions, to extend the shelf life of harvested fruits. He also mentioned various challenges that farmers could face if proper post-harvesting measures are not applied, which directly affect profitability. He also stressed that cultivators should show greater interest in processing and value addition of exotic fruits and their products, as yields can be seasonal, and that the yield should be used to the fullest.
Mr. Ananthesh V Prabhu, Vice Chair- CII Mangalore and Managing Partner of Aruna Industries, Mr. Nataraj Hegde, Ex-chair of the CII Mangalore division, also attended the event along with farmers from various organizations like Atharv Farms, Inna Karavali FPC, Ltd, Bantwala Farmers group, Miks Life Sciences, Fyndo, Shoolin Estate, Anathanam Plantation, Sanoor Cashews, Walden Farms, Twinkle Agro Farms, Krithika Exotics, Soans Farms, Sediyapu Agro Farms. A total of 32 participants attended the event.

Workshop Date : 2026-07-14

Venue : Ajantha Business Centre, Mangaluru

Last updated 2026-07-16 05:14:34