India’s first monk fruit cultivation exercise begins in HP’s Kullu at Bharhka Countyside Cottage orchard
The cultivation of monk fruit (Siraitia grosvenorii) from China has been taken up for the first time in India by the Palampur-based CSIR-IHBT.
In spite of its high demand, this crop is only cultivated in China. However, suitable agro climatic conditions are also available in India, particularly in Himachal. Keeping in mind the importance and essentiality of non-nutritive natural sweetener and diverse agro-climatic conditions in India, CSIR-IHBT, Palampur, brought monk fruit seeds for the first time in the country from China through ICAR-NBPGR, New Delhi, in March 2018. CSIR-IHBT has initiated the monk fruit cultivation programme by planting its seedlings at Bharhka Countryside Cottage orchard in Kullu District of Himachal Pradesh. The monk fruit is suited to mountainous areas with a temperature ranging between 16 to 20 degrees Celsius. The fruit is native to southern parts of China, in the mountainous areas of Yongfu, Longsheng, and Lingui counties in the northern Guangxi province. The Monk fruit gets its name after the monks who first used it. It’s from the same food family as gourds like pumpkin and melon. • The monk fruit is known for its properties as a non-caloric natural sweetener and high-intensity sweet taste. • Japan has approved the purified mixture of Mogroside as a high-intensity sweetening agent, and the USA approves it as a safe food ingredient, flavour enhancer, and non-nutritive sweetener. The economic benefits of the new crop are estimated to be between Rs 3 lakh to Rs 3.5 lakh per hectare. PROS- - No pesticides - Monk fruit is grown away from city pollution It’s naturally a low-calorie sweetener. Monk fruit sugar is made in four general steps: -The fruit is crushed, releasing the juice - It is then mixed with hot water and filtered to reveal the fruit infusion - The sweet infusion is dried to create a powder known as monk fruit sugar It comes with its own set of benefits as well. These include, but aren’t limited to: It reduces calories. Because monk fruit sugar is metabolized differently than regular sugar, you can reduce your caloric intake by using it. It doesn’t affect blood sugar. Monk fruit sugar doesn’t affect your blood sugar levels and can improve your glycemic control. It’s anti-inflammatory. The sweetener in monk fruit sugar, also known as mongrosides, has anti-inflammatory effects. It can help fight cancer. Mongrosides can help your body fight cancer. It doesn’t cause cavities. Since there’s no actual sugar inside monk fruit sugar, you don’t need to worry about it causing cavities. You only need a little. Since it’s 150-200 times sweeter than sugar, you only need a pinch to get the desired taste, making it last longer than sugar. We hope the plant grows well in climatic conditions of Himachal Pradesh at our orchard at Bharhka Countryside Cottage in Kullu Intake of added cane sugars can lead to life-threatening diseases such as insulin resistance, Type 2 diabetes, liver problems, metabolic syndrome, heart disease, etc. As per the world health organization (WHO) report, worldwide 346 million people are diabetic. Several synthetic sweeteners of low calorific value have recently been appeared in the pharmaceutical and food industries, but their health hazards due to harmful side effects restrict their utility. Thus, the production of sugar substitutes, particularly non-nutritive natural sweeteners, is a major challenge for scientists.”
A day tour to the apple mountains of Shimla in Himachal Pradesh - Narkanda, Kotgarh , Tani Jubbar Lake
A day tour to the apple mountains of Shimla in Himachal Pradesh.
Located on the Shimla-Route route, Hatu is the highest point on this stretch and this temple is located at almost 9000 feet above mean sea level. It also falls bang in the middle of the main apple belt of this side of Himachal Pradesh.
We embark upon a journey to the apple belt, Narkanda, Mathiana, Hatu Devi Temple, Tani Jubbar Lake, Thanedar, Kotgarh.
We started from Shimla city, Mehli at 10 am in the morning on a sunday, there was traffic all over the vicinity of Shimla but after crossing Kufri, traffic had decreased.
It was September month and the apple season in entire state of Himachal Pradesh was in full swing.
In this journey we visited the Rajiv Gandhi High altitude sports training institute, Matiana apple region, Narkanda, Tani Jubbar lake , Kotgarh.
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