Purdue Garden Calendar

Keep holiday poinsettias and other plants near a bright window. Water as top of soil becomes dry.
Increase humidity around houseplants by grouping plants together, placing them on a pebblewater tray or running a humidifier.
Check stored produce and tender flower bulbs and roots for rot, shriveling or excess moisture. Remove and discard damaged material.
Repot houseplants as they outgrow current pots. YARD (Lawns, woody ornamentals and fruits)
Check young trees for rodent injury on lower trunks. Prevent injury with hardware cloth or protective collars.
Keep road and sidewalk salt away from plants. Construct a screen of burlap, if necessary, to keep salt spray off plants.
"Leaf" through nursery catalogs and make plans for landscape and home orchard additions. Order plants early for best selection.
Early spring-flowering trees and shrubs, such as forsythia, crabapple, flowering quince, flowering dogwood and honeysuckle, can be forced for early indoor blooms by placing cut branches in water in a warm location. GARDEN (Flowers, vegetables and small fruits)
Send for seed catalogs for the garden.
Sketch your garden plans on paper, including what to grow, spacing, arrangement and number of plants needed.
Order seeds and plants as early as possible for best selection.
Wood ashes from the fireplace can be spread in the garden, but don't overdo it. Wood ashes increase soil pH, and excess application can make some nutrients unavailable for plant uptake. Have soil tested to be certain of the pH before adding wood ash.

In the Sackler Atrium, Modern Ideas in Full Flower

In the normal course of things, there are two good reasons for lingering in the sunny atrium of the Smithsonian's Arthur M. Sackler Gallery, down on the south side of the Mall. There's the huge arrangement of exotic flowers that greets you as you come in, and the installation of contemporary Asian art that you encounter further on. One of those two reasons isn't there right now, but it's hard to say which one. The official art program may be on temporary hold, but that's let the flowers morph into a wall-filling installation that's so ambitious, it's hardly fair to call it an "arrangement" anymore. It's closer to contemporary sculpture. Since 1997, Smithsonian horticulturalist Cheyenne Kim has been in sole charge of greeting visitors with flowers, using a special fund established by Else Sackler, wife of the museum's founder. Kim was born in Japan in 1941, and he trained in the traditional craft of ikebana.

Palace that melts in your mouth

All you need to do is take a slice — and let it melt in your mouth.
Welcome to Bangalore Palace, a 4.5 tonne cake made of sugar that went on display yesterday at a city school. The 62.5-foot-long, 20-foot-high and 19.5-foot-wide creation, exhibited by Nilgiris bakers and confectioners, is modelled on Britain’s Windsor Castle and took three months to prepare.
Twenty-five men laboured to give the finishing touches to the brown-and-white sweet monster, the 33rd edition of sugar-and-cake creations Bangaloreans have been treated to nearly every Christmas over the past several decades.
“We did not have the exhibition for the last two years. As a large number of people have been asking us reasons for not having it, we decided to have it this year,” says C. Ramachandran, the architect and chief mason.
Ramachandran used to run Nilgiris, Bangalore’s favourite bakers and confectioners, till he handed over the reins to younger family members.
The business has grown from a small dairy farm outlet in 1905 to one that includes ready-to-eat packaged food, bread, milk products, a supermarket chain and a restaurant.
The annual cake exhibition started in 1969 and has drawn around four lakh visitors every year.
“The colours are also safe and edible,” says one of the bakers involved in making the cake, which will be open to the public till December 31 at St Joseph’s Indian High School.
All the panels, walls, balconies, parapets, domes and forecourt of the cake, a replica of the original Bangalore Palace which itself is modelled on Windsor Castle, are edible. But it has to be kept at 40 degrees Celsius throughout the period of the exhibition so that it does not wither away.
There are smaller models called Santa Villa, Ship, Kiddies Wheel, Jurassic Park, Clock, Cinderella Coach, Flower Arrangement, Peacock and Veena, which lucky raffle winners can take away.
The show has made it to the Limca Book of Records but hasn’t yet found a mention in the Guinness World Records — because there is no category under which it can be put.
But Bangaloreans shouldn’t mind. This is one cake they can have and eat too — year after year.

Growing pains

The creation of the English garden in the 18th and 19th centuries is often associated with the "great men" involved: garden designers such as William Kent, Lancelot "Capability" Brown and Humphry Repton. But Toby Musgrave has written a revisionist history of a forgotten profession: that of the head gardener. These were the people who actually laboured to grow thousands of annuals, who mixed secret recipes of manure to create verdant lawns, and who engineered fountains and lakes.

Life as a gardener started at about the age of 12, and apprenticeship usually lasted as many years. To learn their trade, boys washed flowerpots or stoked the boilers in the hothouses for more than 10 hours a day, six days a week, while studying the latest horticultural publications in the evenings. One Andrew Turnbull, for example, learned every night some 50 new plant names, in order to be allowed to work in the flower garden. Most of the apprentices and gardeners lived in abysmal conditions. Some of the so-called "bothies" were, as one horticultural writer complained, "very uncomfortable hovels" - cold, gloomy and unsuitable for human habitation. The wages were also low, even compared to other badly paid trades, and worst of all the boys had to bribe the head gardener with an annual "fee" to take them on at all.
Musgrave is particularly evocative when describing the education and daily work of the gardener in the 19th century - shovelling manure on frosty December days, with "sweat dripping off my nose like peas", as described by a David Thomson. At Bicton in Derbyshire, the gardeners were fined threepence if they arrived in a dirty shirt or if their shoes were not properly tied, and fourpence if they were "found gathering fruit with unwashed hands".
What is missing in The Head Gardeners, however, is an examination of what motivated these men to endure the hardship of the long apprenticeship, despite the prospect of lifelong penury and ever more demanding physical labour. There is little about the passion that drove them - that all-encompassing urge to grow, create, experiment and to improve (the soil, the technology, the plants, but also their station in life).
An example for this is Musgrave's case study of the greatest and most famous of all head gardeners, Joseph Paxton at Chatsworth, in the 19th century. His relationship with his employer, the Duke of Devonshire, was extraordinary, as it changed from servitude to deep mutual friendship. Paxton moved from mere employee to friend, companion and financial adviser. He travelled with the duke to France, Italy and Constantinople, seeing more art, architecture and cultural landmarks than many aristocrats. Back home, Paxton's sheer determination, combined with his horticultural and technological genius, made the duke "drunk with Chatsworth" - consequently spending more money on his garden than anybody else at the time. Paxton eventually used his knowledge and experience with the glasshouses at Chatsworth as inspiration for the Crystal Palace at the Great Exhibition in 1851, and thereby became both famous and rich.
However, despite this amazing story of friendship and obsession, Musgrave organises this section rigidly according to Chatsworth's garden features ("rockwork", "pinetum", "glasshouses" and so on). This destroys the narrative, which should surely have been driven by the irresistible relationship between Paxton and the duke and their ambitions.
Musgrave does succeed, however, in demonstrating how many of the gardeners became enormously accomplished, executing the grand ideas of famous landscape architects, which were often provided only as a sketch. They not only laid out these complex designs but also mass-produced tender exotics and pineapples in all seasons, built glass-houses, improved the soil, organised their staff and cajoled their employers. They were horticulturists, mathematicians, engineers, chemists, botanists and managers at the same time. Many also played a central role in disseminating the new horticultural knowledge. Philip Miller, as the head gardener at the Chelsea Physic Garden in the 18th century, was the first to publish a gardening encyclopedia which was based on observation and experiments instead of plant lore and myth - it was the mother of all plant dictionaries.
Others founded horticultural magazines or wrote books and articles, sharing their experience with professionals and amateurs. Some even ruled their employers: Thomas King, of Devizes Castle in Wiltshire, grew only flowers he liked, ignoring his employer's wishes. Samuel Barker, of Clumber Park in Nottinghamshire, went so far as to write threatening letters when the owner dared to pick and eat "his" prized grapes without asking for permission.
· Andrea Wulf is the co-author of This Other Eden. Seven Great Gardens and 300 Years of English History, published by Little, Brown.

Christmas Flower Power

There is a beautiful flower native to Mexico where a legend is told on it’s behalf. The story is of a poor girl named Maria and her little brother, Pablo. The two loved the annual Mexican Christmas festival with its large manger scene, but each year were disappointed that they had no money to buy a gift for the baby Jesus. One Christmas Eve, Maria and Pablo stopped on their way to the church to pick some weeds growing along the roadside to give to the baby Jesus. The other children laughed at them for their gift, but Maria and Pablo knew their gift was from the heart. As they began to place their plants around the manger, the green-top leaves miraculously turned into bright red petals. Soon the manger was surrounded by beautiful star-shaped flowers and became known as Flores de Noche Buena - Flowers of the Holy Night - the first Poinsettias. This beautiful legend accompanying the plant was introduced to the United States by Dr. J.R. Poinsett who was the U.S. Ambassador to Mexico from 1825-1829 who was also a keen botanist and gardener. It is from him that we get the Americanized name of the plant. Poinsettias are amazing plants! You have probably guessed by now that if I am writing an article about them then they probably have some healing properties to them but did you know that Poinsettias represent over 85 percent of the potted plant sales during the holiday season? And that $220 million worth of poinsettias are sold during a 6 week period from November to December?! In fact, it is such a popular plant that December 12 is National Poinsettia day! And there is even an NCCA Bowl game in San Diego named the Poinsettia Bowl! That probably makes it one of the most recognized and popular herbs in the world despite the lack of knowledge of it’s medicinal properties. So what are it’s medicinalproperties you may ask? Well the leaves are commonly used in Mexico as a cathartic (an agent used to purge the bowels, a mild laxative) and an emetic (an agent used to induce vomiting) and a tea made of the small, barely there, yellow flowers found in the center of the leaves (1Tbsp of fresh flowers or 1 tsp of dried to 1 cup of water) will promote the secretion of milk in lactating women. The flowers bloom during the shortest days of the year right around Christmas. Another rather unique medicinal trait comes from the plants milky sap. It contains chemicals capable of temporarily removing unwanted hair. However some people can be mildly allergic to this sap and it may produce a slight rash or reddening of the skin so try it in a small area first. Many people believe that poinsettia’s are poisonous to children and pets however this is incorrect. In the 1970’s Ohio State University conducted a study on rats. They fed 160 rats large amounts of the plant in order to establish the plants oral toxicity rate (the amount needed to induce death). The rats were fed up to 22.5 grams of the plant and no deaths occurred. That is the same as a 50-pound child eating 500-600 leaves! That is about 15 full sized plants! The most likely event to preclude ingesting that many leaves would be a tummy ache or if you are lucky, vomiting and I assure you that would be a welcome event after that many leaves! Besides isn’t that one of it’s medicinal properties anyway? Poinsettias truly are a Christmas plant for once the holiday season is over your beautiful red plant will go dormant and lose it’s leaves and that’s when most of them find their way to the trash can. Howeveryou can easily trim the branches and find a cool place to store it until the last frost is gone and then plant it in the ground or in a bigger pot and lengthen it’s herbal life! (It needs slightly acid soil anda protected location. Fertilize once a month for best color.) In return your plant will forever return the favor in offering you it’s medicinal healing powers. After all it’s your health!The Hurricane Valley Journal does not endorse any medical treatment or guarantee its effectiveness in treating medical conditions. Please consult your health care provider for questions regarding your health or before trying any medical treatment.

National records announced at Flower Festival

VietNamNet Bridge – The Vietnam Record Book Center recognized eight new national records at the Flower Festival 2007 on Tuesday in the resort city of Da Lat, Lam Dong Province.

The eight included: the largest procession of Santa Clauses, 200; the largest timber-made wine barrel; the largest pair of tea boxes; a stone block with the signatures of 100 newly married couples; the largest pair of candles; the largest number of wedding cars serving a wedding party; the largest wedding photo; and the longest wedding gown.

At the Flower Festival, Vinacafe Company also presented a giant cup of coffee, which has registered with Guinness World Record organization.

These records were introduced to visitors in a procession along the Xuan Huong Lake.

Last night, a performance named “Extraordinary men from three regions” attracted thousands who came to see strange performances by famous Vietnamese artists and record setters, including: Mac Can, Ho Kieng, Tong Son, Nguyen Van Dieu, Phan Thanh Tien, Nguyen Quang Hien and Tang Ky Quang.

God picked a flower

When my mom isn't invoking the Holy Spirit during her daily routine, she prays to St. Therese of Lisieux whenever things get heavy: "Little Flower, show your power in this hour."St. Therese saw the seasons as reflective of God's love for us. She loved flowers and saw herself as the "little flower of Jesus," who gave glory to God by just being herself among all the other flowers in God's garden.

Mom is 84 and not prone to much nonsense. So when she tells me this brings her stress relief and spiritual wisdom, I believe her. Besides, I'll try anything, especially during the holiday season when stress is the order of the day.No matter what, we all experience an entire range of emotions as we muddle our way through life. Sometimes particular feelings are more pronounced than others. Sure, one tries to be prepared, but mostly we try to take things as they come, deal with them as well as we can, then just plant the seeds of our best intentions and watch them grow (or not) in God's garden.The death last week of Nogalian Ramon Insunza dealt many of us who knew him a crushing blow to the heart. Many came to know him during his years of dedication to the local youth soccer group. Or maybe he was the man folks called for their pest-control service.Once I allowed myself to grieve and reflect I consoled myself, thinking maybe God needed someone to fumigate his garden, or a coach for AYSO (Angel Youth Soccer Organization), or simply an unassuming kind-hearted man he knew would listen to Him whenever He needed to unload.Ramon's friend, Frank Martinez said, "He would coach, referee and run the league not only on game day but daily volunteering for over 20 years - no pay, some thanks, but not enough. He took criticism in stride and his favorite word was, "Gracias."Like Martinez said, his family should take comfort and be "very proud for sharing him with the rest of us."If my mom is right, St Therese and the Holy Spirit will help them resign themselves and heal from their painful loss.

Flower show leads to Chiang Mai price war

Hoteliers in Chiang Mai foresee no end to the price war that has resulted from an oversupply of rooms that arose ahead of the Royal Flora Ratchaphruek 2006 exposition. The northern province currently has an estimated 25,000 hotel rooms, compared with 17,000 before the three-month international horticultural exposition opened in November 2006. Most of the rooms are budget and middle-scale hotels, according to data from the Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT).
Another 500 to 600 rooms are due to open in the first quarter of next year with the completion of new five-star hotels, according to Phairoj Suksundee, the director of sales for the Holiday Inn Chiang Mai.
He said the problem was compounded by the conversion of some serviced apartments to accommodate daily guests and thus functioning like hotels.
The oversupply is expected to continue, and as result, hoteliers are slashing prices to draw business. Room rates at three-star hotels range from 1,500 to 2,300 baht per night this year and would be at least 1,600 to 2,500 baht next year, said Mr Phairoj.
To cope with the problem, Mr Phairoj said Holiday Inn was focusing on the international meetings, events, exhibitions and conferences market and niche markets such as corporate and incentive domestic travel to expand its Thai customer base from 20% to 25% next year.
The hotel also is wooing visitors from the Middle East, who are finding it more difficult to travel in Europe because of security issues, and are turning to Southeast Asia. Middle Eastern visitors tend to travel from June to September, which could help fill rooms during the low tourism season in Thailand.
Mr Phairoj said the main rivals to Thailand for Middle Eastern tourists were Singapore and Malaysia.
He said next year hoteliers would face more heavy competition, particularly among mid-market and budget properties. At the same time, five-star and upscale hotels must cut unnecessary costs and be alert to new rivals.
In the low season from May to September of this year, the hotel occupancy rate in Chiang Mai averaged below 50%. The rate is expected to average 70% in the high season from October to next April, said Junnapong Saranak, the director of the TAT's Northern Region 1 office.
This year, he expects that Chiang Mai will welcome a total of 4.2 million visitors, with an increase to 4.5 million next year. He forecast that by the end of this year, tourism-related business will generate revenue of 40 billion baht for the province, up from 39 billion last year.
Mr Junnapong said that two five-star hotels operated by big global hotel chains would open next year. They will help to promote the province through global networks

Da Lat flower festival to offer free wine

More than 8,000 liters of free wine will be served at the Da Lat Flower Festival later this month.
The wine party, sponsored by four local beverage companies, will be held on December 20 the Central Highlands’ most famous resort town.
Vu Van Tu, director of the Lam Dong Province Trade and Tourism Promotion Center, said free libations would be available to all in attendance.
Lam Dong Foodstuffs Joint Stock Company, Da Lat Beverage Joint Stock Company, Vinh Tien Company Limited and Cau Dat Tea Factory will supply 2,000 liters of wine each.
Seven nations, including the Netherlands, the Republic of Korea, China, Japan, Thailand, Belgium and Denmark will send flowers for the festival’s International Flower Exhibition, which will run December 15-21.

Quick and Easy Christmas Table Display

I've had one of these designs floating around our house for years. It lives in a box in the Engineers garage and is pulled out annual along with his stuff for eating out doors...
Things to Gather
5 artificial pointsettia (large) 3 thick branches of artificial holly and berry sprays - mine are about 35cm long and about 15cm wide.
Cable ties 10 cm wide Christmas ribbon
Method
Basically what we are going to create are two long lengths comprising of a flower, holly branch, then another flower with a bit of space between each placement, then held together with cable ties. Two are required, then they are pushed back into each other from the stem ends. The stems create a strong support structure. The space in the middle, is then filled with the 5th remaining flower.
Ribbons further secure and embellish display.
The beauty of this design is that it's flat, so it doesn't fall or blow all over the place, plus it's quick and easy...
Lay a pointsettia on work surface, then come down the stem and position one of the holly berry branches, come down further and place another flower. Tie off with a cable tie or two. Make a nice fat thick bow using the ribbon.
Once you have made two, as indicated above bring the stem ends together, leave enough space in the middle section to place remaining flower, which will need to be manipulated into position to sit slightly raised. Cable tie once again to hold firm. Finish off with another nice fat bow in the centre.
Flash Decorated Jandals
I hate jandals at the best of times, but when forced by the Engineer to visit the beach or we go to a pool party, there is always the comment.
I hope you've got sensible SHOES to wear!
So I pull out my beach or pool shoes - hand decorated jandals...
You'll imagine his face...
Things to gather
A pair of jandals or flattish something's Gem-bond glue - or hot glue gun Satay stick with a small amount of bee's wax formed into a small ball (about the size of a cotton bud) this is used to pick up and position jewel on top of glue Gorgeous sparkly rhinestones Or pretty little flowers
Method
Decide on where you want to position jewels or flowers, then mark pattern using a pencil.
Take the glue and apply little droplets on to markings.
Use the waxed end of the satay stick to pick up and place jewels on top of glue.
Allow a good day to ensure glue has dried before wearing.
These would make perfect Christmas gifts.

NAD Asks Traditional Flower Remedies to Stop Ad Claims

NEW YORK— The National Advertising Division (NAD) of the Council of Better Business Bureaus recommended Traditional Flower Remedies discontinue certain performance claims in advertising for its Calming Essence Cream. According to NAD, certain claims relating to the product’s ability to restore moral and emotional balance and address stress and anxiety are not supported by evidence conducted using the company’s product. Traditional Flower Remedies, a Winona Lake, Ind.-based marketing company, stated the product uses a flower essence formula developed by Dr. Edward Bach, and submitted a clinical study testing Nelson-Bach’s Rescue Remedy.
NAD found no evidence that the Nelson-Bach and Calming Essence Cream products are sufficiently similar so as to allow for the extrapolation and application of the test results. Although NAD stated the body of evidence upon which the advertiser relied might, when considered collectively, provide a reasonable basis for properly qualified claims about the composition of the ingredients in the advertised product and its intended function, it was insufficient to support the specific performance claims made for the product.
In a response statement, Traditional Flower Remedies said while it disagrees with NAD’s findings, “We will not protest vehemently against them. Instead, we will attempt to revise our ads so that we can continue to assist consumers with their needs while remaining within the NAD’s recommendations.”

Sport on TV: Flower power that turned to terror on the Olympic stage

When the Olympic Games came to Munich in 1972 the world still smelt of the late Sixties – a bouquet of flower power with grace notes of bloody protest. Global terrorism was still in the future, but only by a matter of days, and Olympic Massacre: The True Story (Five, Tuesday), which told the story of the Black September attack on the Israeli athletes, was replete with dramatic irony.
"The opening ceremony was just peace, joy and love," said Joachim Fuchsberger, the Olympic Stadium announcer, while for Ankie Spitzer, wife of the Israeli fencing coach, Andre, the first days of the Games were idyllic: "Every day we went to competitions, we walked about the village, we went to movies, there were jam sessions..." It was the Garden of Eden before the serpent showed up.
The security arrangements were surreal, the idea being to smother protests with love. Manfred Schreiber, the chief of police, described the pre-Games security discussions, such as they were. He had 2,000 unarmed officers with no specialist training, and decided it would be best if they didn't enter the Village at all. In the event of any demos there were plans to shoot candy from Mardi Gras cannons, throw nets over protesters or have policewomen approach them brandishing bunches of flowers. Best of all was the scheme to assemble squads of Dachshund trained to surround protestors and bark at them, disarming them with laughter.
There had been a bit of joined-up thinking; police psychologists had prepared reports on how Palestinian terrorists operated but Manfred Schreiber was having none of it. "Shrinks are just a pain in the arse," he said.
There have been several TV documentaries, as well as the Oscar-winning One Day In September, so the police force's naivete and incompetence that led directly to the slaughter on the runway is familiar material by now. But the details – like no police marksmen in the whole of Germany – and the personal testimonies of the survivors and the bereaved, brought it to life.
They each had their own worst moment. For Ankie Spitzer it was seeing Andre at the window of the apartment talking to the police below with a gun to his head, "blind without his glasses and stripped of his clothes – it's the most painful memory I have."
For Klaus Bechler, one of the helicopter pilots who took the terrorists and hostages to the airfield, there are several candidates for worst moment. There was seeing the Israelis coming off the bus, tied together with red rope – "it was an awful picture, horrible" – but that was exceeded when the shooting started and the terrorists began killing the hostages.
"I heard them screaming in my helicopter," he said. "There was one who wasn't dead yet. He kept on screaming. He screamed for a long time." The three surviving terrorists were shipped out to Tripoli and welcomed as heroes. The bereaved were compensated. In 2004.

New Bill to Feature National Flower

By Yoon Ja-youngStaff ReporterThe mugunghwa ― also called the rose of Sharon ― and Daedongyeojido, or the Great Map of Korea, will feature on the new 100,000 won banknote along with a portrait of Kim Koo.The Bank of Korea (BOK) said the national flower and the map of Korea, completed by geographer Kim Jeong-ho in 1861, have been tentatively picked as features for the new banknote that will debut in 2009.Kim Koo, the late president of the interim government in Shanghai during the Japanese colonial period from 1910 to 1945, was chosen as the main character of the country's highest denominated bill early last month. ``Considering Kim's symbolic power as a loyalist and patriot, devoted to the independence movement, the Mugunghwa will be featured on the front along with the key figures of the interim government,'' the central bank announced. ``Independence and patriotism'' will be the theme of the front side of the bill. The photo of the interim government figures was taken at the interim government building in Chungking, China, on Nov. 3, 1945, to celebrate their return to Seoul after Japan's defeat. The interim government had to move its post several times due to Japanese oppression. The back of the bill will feature the Daedongyeojido ― currently kept at the museum of Sungshin Women's University in Seoul, and the Bangudae Petroglyphs ― an engraving on a rock in Ulsan. The map and rock engraving are designated as Treasure no. 850 and National Treasure no. 285, respectively. ``The painting, a relic from the pre-historic age, symbolizes the spirit of Koreans. Animals in the rock painting will be featured on the banknote,'' the central bank said.The new 50,000 won-bill will carry a painting of grapes by Shin Saimdang and another painting by Eo Mong-ryong, both painters from the Joseon Kingdom. Shin, a female artist and the mother of famous scholar Yi I, was selected as the main character of the bill last month, despite opposition from progressive female NGOs. They said that Shin, an ideal mother of Confucian society, wasn't a role model for modern women. ``We chose to include the painting to reflect Shin's identity as a female artist,'' the central bank said.The BOK welcomes any opinion on the selection of the new banknote figures at its Website, www.bok.or.kr, until next Wednesday. chizpizza@koreatimes.co.kr

Thief in Germany uses flower pot to steal Porsche

BERLIN (Reuters) - A thief in Germany used a flower pot to steal a 150,000 euro (107,442 pounds) Porsche.
Reversing out of his open garage, the car's owner heard a scraping noise and got out to investigate, police in the western city of Bonn said on Tuesday.
As the 56-year-old was bending down to remove a flower pot jammed against a tyre, a man pushed him aside, leaped behind the wheel and drove off in his grey Porsche 997 Turbo.
"All the shocked man could do was jump to one side to avoid being run over," police said.

NACIL mulls flower export by Pune-Dubai flight

Pune, December 3 National Aviation Company of India Limited (NACIL), that was set up following the merger of Air India and Indian on March 30, is planning to tap the unutilised cargo capacity of the direct Pune-Dubai flight for exporting perishable agricultural items. The plan is to set the ball rolling with export flowers to the west Asian market. The first consignment of exports are tentatively scheduled for the first week of January, said deputy general manager of the State Agricultural Marketing Board, Santosh Patil.
A meeting of the aviation company officials, floriculturists, horticulturists and the State Agricultural Marketing Board has been scheduled on December 13 at the Inland Cargo Depot (ICD) at Dighi near here to chalk out a detailed action.
The direct Pune-Dubai flight was started way back in December 2005 by Air India. However, it was after getting taken over by Indian in September 2007, that it was decided to tap this export potential.
“No agriculture items were dispatched from the flight until then. Recently a meeting was held with the state Marketing Minister Harshwardhan Patil to consider the export of perishable agriculture items from Maharashtra. Western Maharashtra is a prolific producer of flowers and the number of growers is increasing by the day. So when there is a direct international flight from Pune, why not make use of it? Currently, farmers from western Maharashtra take their produce to Mumbai for exports,” said Area Marketing Manager of Air India for Pune region, Dhairyashil Vandekar.
At the December 13 meeting, the effort will be to give farmers an opportunity to observe from close quarters various aspects of cargo export and packaging. A preliminary meeting had recently been organised by Air India where farmers from across the state - even from as far as Satara and Kolhapur - had participated.
For floriculturists from the hinterland, who till now had to wait till their produce reached Mumbai before knowing whether it made the grade as exportable commodity to the west Asian countries, this move by NACIL has come as a big shot in the arm.
“Farmers in Satara predominantly grow gerbera, carnation and roses. There is a good market for flowers abroad and the Pune-Dubai flight can be a good chance to export them in a comparatively shorter time. The access to foreign market will mean more money for floriculturists. Other countries have already started pushing their agriculture produce here and this will give us a chance to reverse the trend,” said Rajendra Sarkale, Director of the Ajinkyatara Farmers Co-operative Society of Satara.