Mangaluru :  Variety of colourful flowers, amodel of Mars Orbiter Mission (MOM) made of 7,500 to 8,000 different colours of Dutch roses, Carnations and Lillies, fruits including 70-kg weighing bunch of G-9 variety of banana and variety of vegetables enthralled visitors at the four-day horticulture and floriculture show at Kadri Park on Saturday.

District in-charge minister Ramanath Rai inaugurated the event. In his Inaugural speech District-in-Charge Minister Ramanath Rai, said the government has been promoting terrace and kitchen gardens. Farmers should make farming even on small holdings profitable through scientific cultivation. Displaying earings, hairpins, and quilling earrings, Anjani Hegde from Boloor said she learnt the art of preparing earings through the information available on net.

Marigolds, periwinkles, dutch roses, Xenia, dahlia, chrysanthemums, orchids azelia, cosmos, celosia, pentas and canna, asters, impatiens, balsam, petunia and gazanias and many other rare varieties of flowers drew large number of people.

Many were posing for photos, having the model of Mars Orbiter Mission and colourful flowers as their backdrop. Beside the MOM, there was a heart made of flowers.

The Carved flowers art on watermelon, basket and parrot from pumpkin, Porcupine from green chillies. Saplings of jack, ‘mallige mavu,’ ‘red lady Tiwan papaya,’ Red jack and others were at display.

Farmers from various parts of the district, displayed the fruit of their labour. Varieties of vegetables grown with organic manure, different varieties of cashews, bananas, arecanut were put on display.

The 70- kg weighing bunch of banana grown by Lawrence Sequeira of Surathkal, Red raddish, dragon fruit, nutmeg, ooty carrot, Chaina cabbage and colorful capsicum were at the display.

Different departments under the Zilla Panchayat had also put up their stalls, introducing the departmental activities. The Department of Veterinary Sciences and Animal Husbandry had created awareness on dairy farming.

Many private companies had put up stalls introducing farmers to the latest farming equipment, fertilisers and technologies used in farming. The fisheries department had displayed various schemes from the government. The officials from the department of sericulture were seen explaining the visitors on the process of silk creation from silk worms through cocoons. On the other hand, a stall on ‘Madhuloka’ explained different varieties of honeybees, honey from different flowers, honey comb and so on. Home made products such as pickles, pappads, squashes, clothes were also sold at the expo.

Attractive jute bags were also sold at a stall. Many farmers were also selling seeds of different vegetables grown in their garden.

To promote terrace and kitchen garden, the department of horticulture had grown bottle gourd, ridge gourd, ash gourd, pumpkin, water melon, bitter gourd, cucumber, radish, beetroot spinach and other leafy vegetables for the show. A few individuals had displayed bonsai, orchids and anthurium grown by them.

Neera, unfermented sap from coconut tree flowers was a centre of attraction at the expo. Horticulture Department Assistant Director Sanjeev Naik said a pilot neera manufacturing unit of Department of Horticulture has come up in Thumbe.

“As State government does not have a Neera policy, we could not make it commercial. The unit was set up with funds from the State Department of Horticulture and Coconut Development Board and has been handed over it to the Palakkad Coconut Producers’ Company Ltd for operation and maintenance. Neera is a non-alcoholic and high in nutritional value. If Neera is heated in a vessel, one gets sugar and jaggery,” he added.

The Thumbe unit can process 5,000 litre neera. If Neera is stored in refrigerated condition, then it can be kept for four to five days, he added.