Chungathara, Malappuram: The Tissue Culture Lab of the Chungathara Service Cooperative Bank is making a significant impact by extending tissue culture technology, previously available only in urban centres, to rural farmers. The lab's primary objective is to provide high-quality, disease-free banana saplings to farmers at low cost, irrespective of the season.

Mother cells required for tissue culture are carefully selected from superior, disease-free banana plants. These cells are then cultivated through specific stages in a special growth medium to produce saplings. As these saplings retain the exact characteristics of the mother plant, the lab can produce superior varieties of banana saplings on a large scale to meet farmers' demands.

Beyond Nendran varieties such as Manjeri (Dwarf), Mettupalayam, Aattu Nendran, Quintal, Thenni, and Swarnamukhi, the lab also produces tissue culture saplings of other banana types like Chengkadali, Poovan, Njalipoovan, Robusta, Grand Naine (G-9), and Poojakadali. In addition to banana saplings, the lab cultivates saplings of orchids, anthuriums, syngoniums, and aloe vera.

The lab also offers the convenience of producing and supplying specific varieties of saplings in bulk upon advance order. The tissue culture saplings are primarily marketed through the bank's own nursery and various nurseries in the surrounding areas.

The lab's operations are overseen by Manager Ratheesh. Bank President C.D. Sebastian, Vice President K.T. Kunjan, and Secretary A.T. Sunitha stated that the lab was established with the dual aim of providing farmers with high-quality planting material at an affordable cost, and bringing the benefits of modern agricultural technology to the rural sector.

Beyond the tissue culture lab, the bank also operates an agricultural nursery, a farmer service center, an Agri Supermarket for agricultural inputs, and an Agrimart that supplies agricultural equipment. The Agrimart further provides facilities for the repair and maintenance of farm machinery. Additionally, high-quality fertilizers (FACT brand) are distributed to farmers through the bank's dedicated fertilizer depot.

The bank aims to further expand the lab's operations to benefit farmers in Chungathara and its neighboring regions. The bank is hopeful that such initiatives will play a crucial role in introducing new technologies in the agricultural sector and inspiring younger generations to take up farming.