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Govt asked to exploit KU floriculture potential
Karachi, June 12, 2008: If government extends support to the Karachi University (KU), it
can earn millions of dollars by exporting tissue cultured plants especially
flowers to the foreign countries, as the KU has potential to produce plants and
flowers of different species in a huge quantity.
However, the HEJ, Research
Institute of Chemistry, KU is providing tissue cultured orchids to the local
market at one-tenth of the market prices; while various five-star hotels in
Karachi and Islamabad are also provided flowers by the KU.
The trade of
flowers has become a lucrative business all over the world, while tissue culture
of the KU are capable of producing fine quality of flowers including orchids,
which is at the second position in the list of top selling flowers. Presently,
there is US $ 2,000 million world floriculture trade involving orchids. The
orchids are marketed both as potted plants and as cut flowers.
According to
the statistics of International Trade Centre, the value of cut flower exports
increased by more than $300 million between 2003 and 2004 to $5,051,039 million.
Netherlands is the largest exporter of the cut flower, having alone $2,900,000
million, which is 58 percent of total cut flower exports.
The KU has two
research institutions, including HEJ, Research Institute of Chemistry, KU and AQ
Khan Institute of Biotechnology and Genetic Engineering, where tissue culture
facilities are available. Tissue culture is the method used to produce
disease-free plants, and is means of mass production of plants in a sterile,
controlled environment.
The Vice Chancellor Prof Dr Pirzada Qasim Raza
Siddiqui, when contacted on Wednesday, said that it could be a
lucrative industry with help of the government. However, there is dire need to
educate people regarding the importance of the tissue culture technology, which
can be used for the increase of corps' production and quality in the country, he
said.
"There is an urgent need to setup a marketing department to promote
and sell products like tissue cultured flowers, produced by the varsities online
with western world; as Dubai is pretty nearer to Pakistan, so quality flowers
sand plants can easily be exported to earn much-needed foreign exchange. In a
situation in which the country facing great economic crisis, such type of
economic activities at the varsity level can help the country's economy. Despite
of the government grants, the public universities are required to generate their
own resources to fulfill their financial needs," he added.
Acting Director
of International Centre for Chemical and Biological Sciences, KU, Prof Dr
Muhammad Iqbal Chaudhry said that the increasing production of flowers was made
only because of the modern Tissue Culture Technology; half of more than 200
commercial Tissue Culture laboratories, throughout the world, micro propagate
orchids and have helped in revolutionise the orchid industry in several
countries. He said that Pakistan is agricultural country, which has been blessed
with variety of climates.
According to a study, there are about 2,000
estimated species of medicinal plants of which 400 are extensively used in
traditional medicines. The HEJ Research Institute of Chemistry of varsity is the
only institution that is working on the same frontier, and has established first
orchid tissue culture laboratory.
This laboratory is operational on five
different genuses of orchids with special emphasis on Dendrobium. It is using
state-of-the-art tissue culture technology to effectively yield orchids. There
are three green houses having thousands of orchids plants. At the institute, 17
varieties of orchids are being reproduced through tissue culture technology and
most of them are Dendrobium.
The flowers are being supplied to the local
market at one-tenth of the market prices; various five-star hotels in Karachi
and Islamabad are also provided flowers by the lab. The HEJ is in fact the
merely producer of orchids in Pakistan at such a large scale. The division is
also providing technical training and collaborative facilities to other labs
that are working as beginners in tissue culture." He said that there was need to
promote such business at the government level, but, unfortunately, our
higher-ups and economic-policy-makers were unaware of this lucrative industry.
"In term of launching a trade of flowers and orchids at national and
international scales, the achievements of the HEJ institute regarding the
subject can easily be utilized. The Export Promotion Bureau of Pakistan and
other related government departments could play vital role in promotion of the
floriculture industry in the country by spreading the awareness among the
entrepreneurs about this new emerging business frontage," he said. The Nation
Your Comments
"For this we need to work on genetical transformation (Gene transfomation) on plants, then we can get our goals.... "
Name: Razim Ali
Email: rzmali@yahoo.com
City, Country: Kohat, NWFP Pakistan
"Oh prev coment also here, Anyway now im really happy that i hav completed my research intership from ICCBS PCMD Karachi University in Molecular biology."
Name: Razim Ali
Email: rzmali@yahoo.com
City, Country: Kohat, pakistan
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KU summer internships under way
Karachi: Summer internship programme (June – July, 2008) for Masters'
final year students of public sector institutions of the country is under way at
the International Centre for Chemical and Biological Sciences (ICCBS),
University of Karachi (KU).
Around 60 students are being trained in
nearly 16 disciplines of sciences and management. The ICCBS has taken this
initiative to promote science and technology education in Pakistan.
According to a press release, issued on Wednesday, ICCBS Acting Director
Dr Muhammad Iqbal Choudhary said that the ICCBS was among the top academic
research Institutions of the developing world with two constituent centers, HEJ
Research Institute of Chemistry and Dr Panjwani Center for Molecular Medicine
and Drug Research (PMDC). The News
Your Comments
"thats good.. but my quire is that how can i get that opportunity?????"
Name: samina
Email: kool_smnksr@hotmail.com
City, Country: karachi pakistan
"Dear Samina! if u r interested in this internship, u can go to this official website..... http://www.iccs.edu/Advertisement%20Summer%20Internship.pdf from where, u can get all information about it. Regards "
Name: Afshan Anwar
Email: afshan.anwar@hotmail.com
City, Country: karachi pakistan
"y not 3rd year?? i wanna do internship.."
Name: sana
Email: kool_muskan54@yahoo.com
City, Country: karachi pakistan
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