New Grape Varieties For Central Punjab

FAISALABAD, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 27th Jan, 2017 ) : The agriculture scientists have developed new varieties of grapes for central Punjab region which can also be grown in Faisalabad division and its adjoining areas.

According to Director Horticulture Ayub Agriculture Research Institute (AARI) Muhammad Ashfaq,earlier,grapes orchards were restricted to the provinces of Balochistan and Khyber PakhtunKhwa (KPK).

He said for the last few years AARI experts conducted practical research for cultivating grapes in Central Punjab and Pothohar region.Now it is commercially cultivated in Potohar region,he added.

"We are optimistic that it can also be cultivated successfully in Faisalabad division," he said. He said that according to statistics of 2012-13, different varieties of grapes were cultivated on approximately 15282 hectares of land in the country which produced 64353 tons grapes per annum.

To a question about experiments' results, he said that different breeds of grapes including seedless ones were also cultivated in Pakistan. "Grapes creeper plants start giving fruit within three to four years.These can start giving the produce for commercial purpose (in bulk) within a period of five years.