Onion and garlic are the world famous spice commodities used for flavouring the dishes.  Besides culinary purposes, these are considered as valuable medicinal plants.  The fungicidal and insecticidal properties of garlic are well established.  Dehydrated powder & flakes and paste prepared out of onion and garlic provide rich agro-industrial base for these commodities.

Realizing the importance  of  onion and garlic  in  the country,  ICAR established  National Research Centre for Onion and Garlic in VIII Plan with its headquarter at Nasik in 1994.  However, due to some working constraints, the Centre was shifted to Rajgurunagar on 16 June 1998. Over the years, the centre has created good facilities for field and laboratory work.  The centre has been upgraded to Directorate of Onion and Garlic Research since December 2008. Besides this, an All India Network Project on Onion & Garlic with 28 participating centres all over the country has been established. 

LATEST EVENTS

DOGR participated in Science Day Exhibition at GMRT, Khodad

Directorate of Onion and Garlic Research, Rajgurunagar participated in Science Day Exhibition held at Giant Metrowave Radio Telescope (GMRT), Khodad, Narayangaon, Pune during February 28th to 1st March, 2014. Different agro-technologies developed by DOGR and samples of different onion and garlic varieties were displayed at the exhibition. Scientists from different fields, farmers, students and teachers visited the DOGR stall and appreciated the technologies developed by DOGR. Several queries pertaining to onion and garlic production, its nutraceutical values, plant protection and post-harvest handling were answered during interaction with farmers and students. Dr. S.J Gawande, Mr. N. Shaikh and Mr. Vishal Gurav managed the event activities.

DOGR Celebrates Agriculture Education Day

An agriculture education day was organized by the Directorate of Onion and Garlic Research, Rajgurunagar on 18^th February 2014. The programme was attended by 163 students of V^th and VIII^th standards from Kendriya Vidyalaya, CME, Dapoli, Pune.   After the welcome address they were educated by Dr. Jai Gopal, Director, DOGR with regard to importance of agriculture, set up of agriculture research and opportunities in agriculture.   They were also enlightened about the role of research in improving agricultural productivity.  A talk on importance of onion and garlic, and the various activities required for the cultivation of these crops was delivered by Dr. V. Mahajan, Principal Scientist. The students were also given live demonstration of various agricultural operations and the technologies developed by DOGR.  Great enthusiasm was shown by the students and they interacted with the other scientists of DOGR.  A quiz was also arranged separately for the V^th and VIII^th standard students and the winners were awarded.  Students were given an opportunity to speak on agriculture in India.  Teachers accompanying the students expressed satisfaction and happiness over the knowledge gained by the students.  The programme was coordinated by the Dr. S. Anandhan, Sr. Scientist and I/c. PME Cell.

DOGR organizes Model Training Course

The Directorate of Onion and Garlic Research organized eight days Model Training Course on “Production Technology in Onion and Garlic” during 10-17 February 2014 at Rajgurunagar.It was sponsored by the Directorate of Extension, Department of Agriculture and Cooperation, Ministry of Agriculture, Government of India, New Delhi. Twenty eight officers from Department of Agriculture and Horticulture, from 10 states including Tripura and Manipur attended the course. The programme was inaugurated by Dr. Jai Gopal, Director, DOGR. He welcomed the participants and briefed about the status of onion and garlic and ongoing activities of DOGR. In total 13 lectures were delivered on various aspects by DOGR scientists. Each lecture was followed by practical on respective topics. There were also two invited speakers from NHRDF and APMC, Maharashtra. Various agro-practices were demonstrated to officers with the experiments laid on the Rajgurunagar, Kalus and Baner farms of the Directorate. Field visits were arranged to Narayangaon and Otur, and they were also taken to Chakan onion market for interaction with farmers, traders and other stake holders. The training material and relevant books were provided to the participants. In valedictory function, certificates were distributed to the participants. Speaking in valedictory function, Dr. Jai Gopal emphasized on carrying of the technologies to the farmers fields particularly for increasing area under kharif production to stabilise onion prices. Trainees were also advised to encourage the farmers for conserving biodiversity, using improved storage technology and adopting seed village concept. Their support for supplying landraces/unique varieties to DOGR was also solicited. The programme ended with vote of thanks by Dr. S. S. Gadge, Course Co-Director of the training programme.