Nauni/Hamirpur: Dr YS Parmar University of Horticulture and Forestry (UHF), Nauni, is set to establish a state-of-the-art Plant Health Diagnostic Clinic for Entrepreneurship Development at its College of Horticulture and Forestry (COH&F), Neri, in Hamirpur district.
University Vice Chancellor Prof. H.S. Baweja laid the foundation stone for the facility in a virtual ceremony on Thursday. The initiative aims to strengthen plant health management, improve horticultural productivity and create new opportunities for rural entrepreneurship in Himachal Pradesh.
The proposed clinic will provide diagnostic services, disease surveillance and scientific advisory support for horticultural crops. Farmers, researchers, extension personnel and horticulture officers are expected to benefit from the facility, which will focus on the early identification of plant diseases and the adoption of targeted plant protection measures.
Speaking on the occasion, Prof. Baweja said timely identification of disease-causing pathogens would enable farmers to adopt appropriate management practices, minimise crop losses and avoid unnecessary or repeated pesticide applications. This would help reduce cultivation costs, pesticide residues and environmental contamination while limiting the development of pesticide resistance.
He also highlighted the importance of detecting pathogens in planting material and perennial plant tissues at an early stage to prevent the introduction and spread of diseases in new orchards.
Referring to the emerging challenges posed by climate change, the Vice Chancellor observed that fluctuations in temperature, humidity and rainfall were affecting pathogen survival, disease development and geographical distribution. These changes were increasing the risk of emerging plant diseases and their spread to new horticultural regions, making effective surveillance and timely diagnosis increasingly important.
Dr S.K. Bhardwaj, Dean of COH&F, Neri, said the clinic would combine conventional and advanced diagnostic techniques with systematic field surveillance and weather-based disease risk assessment to ensure early and accurate identification of plant pathogens.
By integrating laboratory diagnosis, field surveillance, scientific research and farmer-oriented advisory services, the facility is expected to support integrated and sustainable disease management. It will also contribute to climate-resilient horticulture, improved crop health, higher productivity, better-quality produce and sustainable livelihoods for farmers.
Beyond plant disease diagnosis, the clinic is expected to open new avenues for skill development, self-employment and employment generation among rural youth and university graduates.
Students will receive practical training in AI-enabled disease diagnosis, digital plant health monitoring, crop protection consultancy and precision horticulture. These skills could help them establish plant health diagnostic centres, mobile diagnostic services, agri-tech start-ups and plant protection advisory enterprises.
Horticulture graduates and rural entrepreneurs will also have opportunities to develop fee-based diagnostic services and provide customised disease management solutions in collaboration with the university, farmer producer organisations and other agricultural institutions.
The initiative is expected to strengthen rural agricultural services while creating new income-generating opportunities across Himachal Pradesh’s horticultural value chain. By linking scientific expertise with practical farmer needs and entrepreneurship, the university aims to promote a more productive, sustainable and technology-driven horticulture sector.
