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Low chilling varieties of apple were introduced in North-eastern states viz., Mizoram, Manipur and Meghalaya whereby the area was extended to 75 acres.
Hon’ble PM appreciated apple cultivations in NE in his recently Mann Ki Baat
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Initiated organised cultivation of cinnamom (dalchini) in subtropical zone of HP
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Started asafoetida (Heeng) cultivation in cold and hilly regions with the introduction of sixty-six accessions of Ferula assa-foetida from Iran and Afghanistan
following guidelines of ICAR-NBPGR, New Delhi. The activity has attracted national and international attention
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The institute figured in the budget speech (2020-2021) of Honourable Chief Minister of Himachal Pradeshfor our work on Heeng (asafoetida) and saffron.
The state Government initiated a scheme “Krishi se Sampannta Yojana” (KSY) and allocated ~Rs. 10 crores to the institute for the purpose
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Through exclusive efforts of the institute under Aroma Mission, the state of Himachal Pradesh became the highest producer of wild marigold oil in the country
with annual production potential of 7.3 tonnes of high grade wild marigold oil, leading to revenue generation of Rs. 9.4 crores to the farmers
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Floriculture enterprise was further boosted to enhance income of farmers in Lahaul by 4-5 folds as compared to traditional agriculture. Beside Himachal Pradesh,
the activity was extended in Jammu & Kashmir, Punjab and Uttarakhand and area under these crops was consolidated to 125 ha, benefitting 565 farmers with revenue
generation of Rs. 2.68 crores
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Saffron was introduced in non-traditional areas of Himachal Pradesh with supply of 6859 kg corms at 25 locations in Kinnaur, Mandi, Chamba, Kangra and Kullu districts
under an MoU with State Department of Agriculture, Himachal Pradesh
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In the area of natural sweetener crops, the institute made successful introduction of monk fruit (Siraitia grosvenorii) in the country. First ever plantation of monk fruit
in India was done at Raison in Kullu region on July 12, 2021.
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Another sweetener crop, Stevia rebaudiana was extended in 260 ha in Himachal Pradesh, Punjab, Uttar Pradesh, Haryana, Uttrakhand, Chhattisgarh and Andhra Pradesh. Stevia
cultivation has benefitted 500 farmers, who produced 950 tons of dried stevia leaves and generated revenue to the tune of Rs 11 crores.
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Identified a unique pathway for re-assimilation of photorespired CO2 and NH3 in C3 plants at high altitude. Pathway was transplanted with success in Arabidopsis,
a C3 plant species; the transgenics showed improved photosynthesis and yield, and reduced photorespiratory losses. The work which shows an alternative route for
improving photosynthesis in crop plants through introduction of C4-like traits into C3 plants, was well appreciated by the F1000 prime group (a faculty of more
than 8,000 international leading experts in biology and medicine).
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Developed "Compost Booster” - a microbial formulation for rapid degradation of night soil to manage human waste in cold desert areas. The compost boosters were
distributed among a few households in Lahaul for trial in 2018. After positive feedbacks and awareness drives,160 households in adopted it five gram-panchayats
in Lahaul in December 2020 and January 2021.
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Generation of livelihood for increasing the income of cattle rearers by development of one SFURTI cluster on production of enriched compost under MoMSMEat Sirmaur
district with total budget of Rs 2.5 crore impacting 200 beneficiaries.
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Whole genome sequencing of endangered medicinally important Himalayan plant species Picrorhiza kurroa was done totally inhouse. A portal PicroDB was developed to
host newly assembled Picrorhiza genome.
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Established that potential endophytes form high altitude genetic resources for stress tolerance.
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Key regulators for thorn morphogenesis cut roses.
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Thermostable Fe/Mn superoxide dismutase, broad temperature active lipase, unique laccase and L-Asparaginase (HimAsnase™) for diversified industrial applications.
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Cellulose nanonion for therapeutics.
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DNA barcode technology for plant authentication
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Novel Himalayan microbial communities derived biodegradable bioplastic polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHA) and violacein pigment production.
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Tissue culture protocol for mass production of quality corms of saffron and mass production revival of endangered high value medicinal plant of Himalaya.
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Hydroponics & Aeroponics for shorten flowering cycle and year round production of commercially important lilium and tulip.
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Development of the technology of early fruiting shiitake mushroom on varied substrates available across the Indian Himalayan region and its enrichment with Vitamin D2.
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Through bioinformatics studies, HimalayanbioactivemoleculesagainstCOVID-19 targetswereidentified as importantleadsfromTea,Turmeric,FennelandDeodar.
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Identified potential susceptibility genes during rice-Rhizoctnia solani AG1-IA interaction: critical for development of control strategies.
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Steroidal Saponins of Trillium govanianum: Quality control, pharmacokinetic analysis, and anti-inflammatory activity.
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Lignocellulosic biomass utilization to furan based bio-chemicals production to support the area of bio-polymer, bio-fuel, cosmeceutical and health care products.
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Eco-friendly technology for converting raw cellulosic biomass into textile fiber.
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Process development for 4-alkyl resorcinol production for health care applications .
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Exploration of plant derived food additive for microencapsulation of anthocyanins to provide stability upto 160-degree C.
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Herbal Formulation for Immunity Modulation.
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Processing of natural colour and dyes.
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Immunity boosting tea based product:
Tea based polyherbal formulation developed for immunity modulation and technology has been successfully transferred to M/s Vigada CarePvt. Ltd., New Delhi.
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Herbal formulation for promoting cartilage health:
Developed topical and oral formulation using traditional knowledge and FSSAI aaproved plants (Vitex nirgundi(Nirgundi) and Cissus quadrangularis (Hadjod)) for maintaining cartilage health.
Technology is transferred to M/s Carols Formulations, Jalandhar, Punjab.
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Tea based symbiotic nutraceutical:
The technology is based on synbiotic combination of green tea epigallocatechin-gallate (EGCG) as prebiotic and Lactobacillus fermentum asprobiotic bacteria. Preclinical studies
revealed that the formulation confer synergistic/additive health beneficial effects in amelioration of age associated immune-senescence.
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Identification of antiepileptic agent:
Ginkgo biloba leaf extract and apigenin (bioflavonoid present in vegetables and fruits) demonstrated to suppress epilepsy associated with neurobehavioral conditions.
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Caffeine free alternative drink:
Roasted barley grain based beverages as an alternative to coffee drink with a specific aroma and health benefits was developed. It gives similar mouth feel and relish with respect to original taste of coffee beverage.
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In vitro technology to produce naphthoquinone pigments:
Arnebia euchroma is known for its red naphthoquinone pigments, traditionally used as natural colour in food and herbal industries.
Presently, this plant species is categorized as Critically endangered and wild collection banned. Therefore, an alternate technology using in vitro adventitious root culture has been developed for production of pigments.
Higher presence of naphthoquinone pigments in adventitious roots and their short cultivation cycle (5 yrs vs 2 months) makes this technology a feasible and sustainable alternative to wild collection.
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Long Term Ecological Research on leaf litter decomposition of Betula utilis provided insight into nutrient conservation strategies by the species of timberline ecosystems in Himalayas.
The remote sensing analysis reported its shifting to higher elevations. Besides, a phenology monitoring setup was installed to monitor its temporal patterns.
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Spectral vegetation indices were identified for non-invasive estimations of biomass and Nitrogen levels in Stevia rebaudiana using drone remote sensing techniques for its proactive
post-harvest planning and understanding nitrogen requirements, respectively.
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Four Lesser-Known Species viz. Alangium alpinum (C.B. Clarke) W.W. Sm. & Cave (Cornaceae), Euphrasia officinalis L. (Orobanchaceae), Geranium refractum Edgew. & Hook.f. (Geraniaceae)
and Sedum filipes Hemsl. (Crassulaceae) were collected first time for the flora of Arunachal Pradesh, India.
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A chemical ecology study was undertaken to understand freezing tolerance processes in Rhododendron anthopogon, an alpine evergreen shrub which revealed that the metabolome changes were maximal
during the transition to cold de-acclimation compared to cold acclimation, indicating it to be the metabolically most active phase in the growth cycle of evergreen shrubs occurring in the alpine environment.
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Traditional knowledge documentation revealed a significant difference between theoretical knowledge and practical use of fuelwood species. A significant difference in the mean number of fuelwood species known
to the Bhangalis (10.02±0.2) and those actually used by them (4.99±0.1) was reported (Z=-13.252; p<0.001).
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In a first report, the distribution of Dactylorhiza hatagirea, a critically endangered orchid, across its native range in Hindu-Kush Himalaya was determined using ecological niche modelling (ENM) which revealed
that winter snowfall, topographical variability, solar radiation and mean summer-time temperature are among the most important variables determining its distribution.
