Conclusion of the Weekly Training Program on ‘Plant Tissue Culture, Mushroom Spawn Production, and Vermicompost’ organized by USERC

The weekly training program on the topic of “Plant Tissue Culture, Mushroom Spawn Production, and Vermicompost” concluded on April 11, 2025, under the Agro ecology Entrepreneurship Development Centre established by the Uttarakhand Science Education and Research Centre (USERC) at CIMS, Dehradun.

On the occasion of the training program’s conclusion, the chief guest, former Chairman of the Uttarakhand Public Service Commission, Prof. J.M.S. Rana, appreciated USERC’s initiative and stated that such training programs help connect youth with new technologies and play a key role in making them self-reliant. He congratulated all the participants and encouraged them to apply the knowledge gained during the training in their respective fields and promote innovation in their areas. He emphasized that technologies like plant tissue culture can be instrumental in producing quality planting material, increasing crop productivity, and doubling farmers’ income.

USERC Director Prof. (Dr.) Anita Rawat described the weekly training program as very useful for students. Prof. Rawat stated that hands-on training programs based on experiential learning foster scientific awareness, innovation, and help guide students’ careers in the right direction. She added that this program was organized to provide practical knowledge in biotechnology, agriculture-based entrepreneurship, and sustainable development. Participants were given hands-on lab experience and were provided with in-depth information on tissue culture techniques, high-quality mushroom spawn production, and vermicompost preparation by experts.

Prof. Rawat shared that 25 participants from various institutions including Government Degree College Purola (Uttarkashi), Government Post Graduate College Kotdwar (Pauri Garhwal), Government Degree College Satpuli (Pauri Garhwal), Government Degree College Sitarganj (Udham Singh Nagar), and Sri Dev Suman University Rishikesh Campus participated in the training.

Chairman of CIMS and UIHMT Group of Colleges, Advocate Lalit Mohan Joshi, thanked USERC for organizing the training camp and extended his best wishes to the participants.
During the program, Dr. Monika Chauhan, a scientist from FRI Dehradun, gave detailed information on plant tissue culture; Prashant Kumar Chaudhary, senior scientist at Taxgene, covered mushroom spawn production; and Gaurav Suyal, Director of NGP Mrida Pvt. Ltd., explained the technical aspects of vermicomposting. Also present at the training program were Dr. S.B. Joshi, Academic Director of CIMS; Dr. K.S. Negi, Principal of CIMS College of Paramedics; Dr. Ranjeet Kumar Singh, Coordinator of USERC Agro ecology Entrepreneurship Development Centre, CIMS & R, Dehradun; lab assistant Kamal Joshi, and faculty members of CIMS.