Seedless citrus variety AARI-2016 is the result of years long scientific pursuit of the agriculture scien-tists from Ayub Agriculture Research Institute (AARI) Faisalabad and it was being provided to orchard owners so that they along with the exporters can earn premium price and contribute to the na-tional economy in the form of foreign exchange earnings.
Agriculture spokesman said that Feb-Mar was suitable for citrus fruit plants grafting, however, stressed that farmers need to be extra careful in dealing with the grafting of seedless variety to get the genuine best quality plant.
He said that these seedless citrus plants were being nurtured at Faisalabad and Citrus Research Institute Sargodha adding that the AARI-2016 vari-ety was enjoying great demand to the extent that they feel it difficult to maintain supply. To over-come this problem, the researchers have started engaging nurseries to build their capacity to graft seedless varieties properly.
He said that this variety was actually less-seeded variety having two or three seeds adding that an earlier variety having 4-6 seeds had already been made available to orchard owners and nurseries in thousands. He advised orchard owners to select such land for seedless citrus grafting that is less prone to pest infestation snd should be at least fifteen meters away from other crops, any road or pathway. —INP
