FAISALABAD, May 27: University of Agriculture vice-chancellor Prof Dr Riaz Husain Qureshi said on Monday Pakistan was among the countries which produced the best citrus fruit in the world.

He was speaking at a seminar on the ‘establishment of a modern citrus nursery of certified plants through sanitation techniques’ arranged by the department of horticulture and sponsored by the Ministry of Science and Technology here.

He said about 95 per cent of the country’s total citrus fruit production was concentrated in the central Punjab. The area and production of fruits in general, and for citrus in particular, has been expanding since early 1960s due to increasing demand in the domestic and foreign markets.

The demand for fresh fruit in the neighbouring countries offered lucrative returns which resulted in the sustained growth of fruit crops.

He emphasized the need to plant healthy plants. He said nursery plants often carried diseases due to unfamiliarity with modern growing techniques.

Dr Qureshi stated that the world’s best fruit growing countries had self-sustaining nursery certification programmes implemented by the government agencies.

The features of certification programme included a laboratory for tissue culture and diagnosis of diseases, greenhouse and shade houses for propagation and quarantine, field plantations of foundation trees of root stock and scion varieties, logistic support and marketing, he added.

He said the government of Pakistan had enacted laws and notified them under the seed act which needed to be implemented by developing an infrastructure and research base, he added.

Arid University, Rawalpindi, vice-chancellor Prof Dr Khalid Mahmood Khan appreciated the contribution of private nurseries and said they caused phenomenal growth of citrus industry in the country.

Dr Khan said an orchard has its own life span which was now under threat due to various diseases, including viral and fungal diseases.

He said sick trees should be replaced immediately with virus-free plants. This could be done only by establishing nurseries of certified plants through sanitation techniques which could also provide virus-free bud-wood to the other nurseries.

Delivering his keynote address, Dr Iqrar Ahmad Khan said most of the serious virus diseases of citrus were graft-transmissible and spread through the use of infected bud-wood.

He said the use of certified bud-wood has proved successful in controlling virus diseases in California, USA, and many other citrus producing countries.