Addressing media persons at a news conference in Mangalore, Mr. Bhat said that while the state government's decision to ban gutka has put areca growers in a spot of bother, it also needs to encourage research on alternate uses of areca crop.
Mr. Bhat has carried out research in this regard himself and has come out with a beauty soap made out of areca extract besides preparing beverages and areca wine from areca raw material. Areca being a crop with ayurvedic and medicinal significance, the soap prepared by him using areca extract has been effective in curing skin diseases, he claimed. The soap named 'Pooga Singar' is being produced and marketed locally at the moment with a production ratio of 10,000 per month, he said.
A number of farmers and scientists in different parts of the state carry out researches on using areca in different ways at their own level. One scientist has even created mosquito coils out of areca raw material. The government must encourage such research work, he opined.
Scientists in making
Two young emerging scientists who made the country proud by winning laurels at the international level with their research on agricultural science were introduced on the occasion. Both these student scientists prepared their research papers under the guidance of Mr. Bhat.
Rashmi Parvathi K, a student of Vivekananda College, Puttur, won gold medal for her paper presentation on production of medicinal salt through coconut raw material at the International Sustainable World (Energy, Engineering and Environment) Project Olynpaid 2013 held from May 8 to 13 at Houston, Texas, USA.
The other young achiever is Sindhoora Shankar, a 10 std student of Shri Ramakrishna High School, Puttur. She also bagged a gold medal for her paper presentation on alternate pesticides for farmers at the 5th INESPO (International Environment and Sustainablilty Olympiad) 2013 held between June 2-7 at Middelburg, Netherlands.
Other students from the district who made a name at the international level with their work in agricultural science are Dheemanth Sediyapu and Srikumar, students of Shri Ramakrishna High School, Puttur, who won silver medal for their essay 'Development of an effective Biocide from Acacia Concinna', under the guidance of Vasanthi Bhat. Aditya S N and Shivaprasad B of Puttur also bagged silver medals for their essay 'Germicidal Dustbin: A novel way of treating and minimizing clinical pathogen', prepared under the guidance of Rekha P D.
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