By IANS
Chandigarh : Tropicana, the world’s largest juice manufacturer and a subsidiary of PepsiCo, has tied up with the Punjab government for the plantation of citrus fruits in the state.
Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal said here Tuesday that an ambitious programme to have citrus orchards on 5,577 acres of agricultural land had been initiated under this tie-up out of which plantation had been done on 1,137 acres.
Badal said that farmers in the state would be trained and made aware about citrus plantations.
“I hope that by converting to citrus plantation, farmers will help the diversification in agriculture and an alternative will be provided to the wheat-paddy cropping pattern,” Badal said.
A processing plant for citrus and other fruits and vegetables has already become operational in Punjab’s Hoshiarpur district.
Hoshiarpur and Abohar areas of Punjab are known for their citrus plantations, particularly of ‘kinnow’ – an orange-like fruit used for juice.