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The Indian Institute of Science (IISc) will hold its month-long annual flower show

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  The Indian Institute of Science (IISc) will hold its month-long annual flower show from March 3. The flower show has been part of the institution’s history for 35 years, and it is conducted to mark the birth anniversary of the founder, J N Tata. The plants on display are grown in-house and they are displayed from the door of the main building till the founder’s statue on the campus. This time, around 15 varieties of plants will be showcased, ranging from phlox, zinnia, coral zinnia, celosia, and hollyhocks to different types of marigold, candytuft, nasturtium, among others. B Sridhar, horticulturist and curator of the show, says the plants are chosen for their height and colour to befit the design of the floral tribute. “We add microbial culture to make the process organic. This makes the plants look brighter and express their real colour,” he explains. Sridhar and his team of 10 have been growing these plants since last October, staggering them as per their flowering cycle, w...
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Engineer Quits Job to Grow Gerbera Flowers; Earns Rs 18 Lakh, Creates Jobs for Hundreds

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  Engineer Quits Job to Grow Gerbera Flowers; Earns Rs 18 Lakh, Creates Jobs for Hundreds A fter completing his B Tech, Abhinav Singh accepted a job offer from Microsoft and later moved to England to live a comfortable life. But after a while, he realised that despite having all the comforts a luxurious life has to offer he missed being close to his family and friends. “I used to travel across Europe and party on the weekends. It was quite like a dream but even though I felt happy I never felt accomplished,” he says. Realising that his heart was always back home, he moved back to India in 2015. While working at Microsoft’s office in Gurgaon for almost a year, Abhinav knew what he wanted to do next. So, along with visiting his family back in Varanasi, he did his research on taking up agriculture as a profession. “Our family has been into agriculture for generations, except for my father. We had a few acres of ancestral farmland at Chilbila, our native village in Azamgarh, Utta...
Location: Bengaluru, Karnataka, India
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Himalayan red Buransh flowers useful against SARS-Cov-2 viruses: study

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  Himalayan red Buransh flowers useful against SARS-Cov-2 viruses: study Encouraging results emerged later from the red Rhododendron arboreum, locally popular as Buransh, which was taken up for further analysis. Dr Sunil said, “A combination of phytochemical profiling, computer simulations and in vitro antiviral assays showed that extracts from the Buransh petals inhibited the replication of the Covid-19 virus in a dose-dependent manner.” A group of biologists at Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) – Mandi has claimed to have stumbled upon a Himalayan flowering tree possessing antiviral properties with a  potential to be used in the treatment against SARS-CoV2 . “We had some knowledge about the medicinal plants and started documenting phytochemical molecules of rare and endangered plants growing in the Himalayas. Initially, the idea was to create a library which will be useful for future therapeutic purposes, food industry, nutrition purposes, etc. But it was during the 2020 ...
Location: Himachal Pradesh, India
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130-million-year-old flower bud found in China could solve Charles Darwin's 'abominable mystery'

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  130-million-year-old flower bud found in China could solve Charles Darwin's 'abominable mystery' The ancient plant, named Florigerminis jurassica, is described has having woody branches with nodes, an area on the stem where buds are located, physically connected fruit and a flower bud that ends on the branch.      English naturalist Charles Darwin and the world's oldest fossilised flower found in China.  English naturalist Charles Darwin--best known for his work on the evolution of science--had one 'abominable mystery' when it came to deciphering the evolution of flowering plants. A recent discovery of a 130-million-year-old fossilized flower bud found in China may, however, solve this mystery. The fossil includes a leafy branch, physically connected fruit and flower bud, which suggests angiosperms (plants that has flowers and produces seed) were present in the Jurassic period (201.3 million to 145 million years ago). This specimen, which i...
Location: China
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Chennai: Flowers, veggies end up in trash at Koyambedu

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  Chennai: Flowers, veggies end up in trash at Koyambedu            Tonnes of unsold Chrysanthemum flowers dumped at Koyambedu flower market turn into a seat                                                                       for the   neighbourhood watch dog. CHENNAI: About 75 tonnes of  flowers  and  vegetables  went to waste at the wholesale market in  Koyambedu  follwing poor demand. While the wholesale market received an excess of chrysanthemum on the eve of Diwali, continuous rain and low footfall led to wastage of the flower . The number of flowers and vegetables that got rotten was also high, compared to other days. According to market sources, the Koyambedu market received collectively about 900 tonne...
Location: Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India
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Saffron Flowers: कश्मीर में खिले केसर के फूल, अद्भुत नज़ारे को देखने पर्यटकों में दिखा उत्साह

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  Saffron Flowers: कश्मीर में खिले केसर के फूल, अद्भुत नज़ारे को देखने पर्यटकों में दिखा उत्साह केसर के खिले फूलों के इस अद्भुत नज़ारे का आकर्षण कुछ ऐसा है कि चाहने वाले कश्मीर पहुंच ही रहे हैं और केसर के फूलों का स्पर्श अपने हाथों पर महसूस करते नजर आ रहे हैं. आज कल कश्मीर में कुदरत का एक अद्भुत नज़ारा देखने को मिल रहा है. जो अगले दस दिनों में समाप्त हो जाएगा. कश्मीर के पाम्पोर की घाटी में इस समय पूरे जोबन में खिले केसर के फूल जिस को देखने के लिए लोग बेसब्री से इंतज़ार करते है पर इस बार बेमौसम बर्फबारी और बारिश के चलते केसर के फूल कुछ कम खिले है पर उम्मीद है कि मौसम में सुधार के साथ यह कमी भी पूरी हो जाएगी. यह है श्रीनगर से 22 कि. दूर बसे पाम्पोर के खुश्क मैदान जहां पर कोई भी फल, सब्जी या अनाज नहीं उगता. इस अभिशाप के बदले कुदरत ने इस इलाके को अपने सब से हसीं तोफ्हे से नवाजा है. यह तोहफा है दुनिया का सब से महंगा फूल- केसर. जो आज कल अपने पूरे जोबन में यहां पर खिले हुए हैं पर इस बार अक्टूबर के महीने में ही हुई बर्फबारी और बारिश के कारण केसर की पैदावार में 25 प्रतिशत की कमी आई है पर फि...
Location: Jammu & Kashmir
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How to Grow and Care for Garden Roses

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  How to Grow and Care for Garden Roses When it's thick, healthy and emerald green, your lawn is one of the most inviting parts of your home landscape. But when your turf is brown and sickly due to pest invasion, it quickly loses its appeal. Learning about the various pests that threaten your grass – and then arming yourself with an effective treatment plan – will help ensure your lawn stays healthy and beautiful. Selecting the Right Roses Roses come in many different types. Success starts with choosing roses that suit your goals. Some roses, such as modern “hybrid tea" types, need mild climates, more attention and extra protection to survive winters. Classic florist-type roses fall in this category. Hardy, shrub-type roses withstand cold much better, require less attention and need little protection. From delicate buds to big, voluptuous blossoms, they're just as beautiful as other types and often have showy fall rosehips, too. Roses also differ significantly in fragrance...
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