First ever monk fruit cultivation in India by CSIR-IHBT, Palampur

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  First ever monk fruit cultivation in India by CSIR-IHBT, Palampur

Intake of added cane sugars can lead to life-                    style

associated diseases such as insulin resistance, type-2 diabetes, liver problems, metabolic syndrome, heart disease etc. As per recent world health organization (WHO) report, presently about 422 million people are diabetic worldwide. In this regard, several synthetic sweeteners of low calorific value have recently been launched in the market by pharmaceutical and food industries, however, their
possible health issues concern generally restrict their wider acceptability. Therefore, scientists
around the globe are continuously working on development of safe and non-nutritive natural
sweeteners.

The monk fruit (Siraitia grosvenorii) is known now throughout the world for its intensely sweet taste and used as a non-caloric natural sweetener. The sweet taste of monk fruit is
attributed to cucurbitane-type triterpene glycosides known as mogrosides, which is about 300
times sweeter than sucrose or cane sugar. The purified mogroside has been approved as a high-intensity sweetening agent in Japan, while approved under the category of Generally
Recognized as Safe (GRAS) non-nutritive sweetener in the USA.
In spite of its high demand, this crop is only cultivated in China. However, suitable agroclimatic conditions are also available in India, particularly in Himachal Pradesh. Keeping in mind the importance and essentiality of non-nutritive natural sweetener, and diverse agro- climatic conditions in India, Dr. Sanjay Kumar, Director, CSIR-IHBT, Palampur made relentless efforts for introducing monk fruit in the country through proper channel, and finally brought monk fruit seeds for the first time in the country from China through ICAR-NBPGR, New Delhi on March 2018 with import permit No. 168/2017. Dr. Probir Kumar Pal, Principal
Scientist along with other team members developed technology for generation of quality planting material, its basic agronomic cultivation practices, fruiting technique and post- harvest management. At present, monk fruit is successfully being cultivated at CSIR-IHBT with good quality fruits under farm conditions. The plant prefers mountainous area with an
annual mean temperature of about 16–20 °C and humid conditions, hence, Himachal Pradesh is a suitable place for its large scale cultivation. Initially the project was funded by CSIR, Govt. of India, however, now it’s cultivation is being promoted in the state with financial support from Himachal Pradesh Council for Science, Technology & Environment (HIMCOSTE), Shimla.
Dr. Sanjay Kumar, Director, CSIR-IHBT initiated the monk fruit cultivation program in Himachal Pradesh by planting its seedlings in progressive farmer’s field (Sh. Manav Khullar) at Raison, Kullu on 12th July 2021. Mr. Nishant Thakur, the Member Secretary, HIMCOSTE was also present at the time of plantation. On this occasion, CSIR-IHBT Palampur signed a Material Transfer Agreement with Sh. Manav  Khullar, Village & Post office Raison, Distt. Kullu (HP) and provided 50 plants (free of cost) of monk fruit for field trials and the societal benefits. Furthermore, Dr. Probir Kumar Pal and Dr. Ramesh Kumar, scientists from CSIR- IHBT trained the farmers for monk fruit cultivation and established monk fruit demonstration plot.