Mahindra HZPC unveils aeroponics seed potato plant

MHZPC, a 60/40 joint venture of Mahindra Agri Solutions Limited (MASL) and HZPC, has this month inaugurated its state-of-the-art aeroponics facility in Mohali, India.

The new facility will produce the best in class seed potatoes via an innovative process and the latest technology.

In a press release, Mahindra said this will translate into “high quality seed potatoes for the Indian farmer and in turn for consumers.”

Speaking at the inauguration of the facility, Mahindra Agri Solutions Ltd. CEO Ashok Sharma said aeroponics will drastically change the landscape of agriculture, providing world class seeds to farmers and thus leading to higher productivity and increased cultivation.

“Consumers too will feel the advantage as they will be able to experience more and differentiated choices in food, a proposition that Mahindra very strongly believes in,” he said.

Built to support Mahindra’s seed potato business, the aeroponics facility will grow plants suspended in a closed environment, without the use of soil. Necessary nutrients are delivered to the plants through the spraying of atomized nutrient-rich water to the suspended roots and lower stems.

Mahindra said aeroponics will be highly useful both for the B2B and B2C segments. The processing industry will be able to launch new varieties into their production programmes faster, as Aeroponics will help reduce the time to market for new varieties by 50%.

For farmers, this will translate into virus-free world class seeds which will increase productivity by 10-30%, providing the much needed fillip to farmer incomes, it said.

Mahindra HZPC’s aeroponics facility has a capacity to generate 3 million minitubers, and the first production batch is slated to be out in January, 2017. Mahindra HZPC also has plans to launch six new potato varieties, half of which will cater to end consumers and the rest at the processing sector.

Mahindra HZPC owns another facility in Palampur, Himachal Pradesh; which together with the new aeroponics facility is expected to generate 15 million minitubers within a couple of years.

HZPC is a world leader in potato breeding and seed potato trade and Mahindra a US$ 17.8 billion multinational group based in Mumbai.