New Delhi: Namoh 108’. This is the name of the new variety of the national flower Lotus launched by the CSIR-National Botanical Research Institute (NBRI) and dedicated to the country on the 77th Independence Day. The newly improvised variety is more weather resilient and can flower for 10 months, from March to December, after NBRI’s technology intervention.
The CSIR-NBRI also released apparel made from lotus fibre and a perfume developed from Lotus plants. A chip carrying all the information about cotton cultivation was also launched and it would help further research on cotton. ‘Namoh 108’ was launched by CSIR director general (DG) N Kalaiselvi at NBRI’s week-long festival ‘One Week One Lab Programme’ started on Monday.
“Considering the religious importance of lotus and the number ‘108’, this combination gives an important identity to this variety,” the CSIR DG was quoted as saying, The New Indian Express reported. The improvised variety of the national flower has a connection with Manipur as it was brought by NBRI scientists from the northeastern state to conduct research on it. Shedding light on the course of the research, the CSIR DG said, “This is the first Lotus variety the genome of which is completely sequenced. This plant will never be extinct or endangered like many of our flowers and plants have become.”
