The Tulip Festival

•  The Indira Gandhi Memorial Tulip Garden, earlier known as the Model Floriculture Center, is located in Srinagar on the foothills of the Zabarwan Range.
•  The garden was established in 2007 to promote floriculture and tourism.
•  It is considered the largest tulip garden in Asia.
•  The garden holds over one million tulips across more than 60 varieties.
•  The Tulip Festival is organized annually during spring (March–April) to promote tourism and showcase the blooms.
•  Tulips remain in bloom for about 15–20 days, depending on weather conditions.
•  The Valley imports around 15 lakh tulip bulbs annually from the Netherlands.
Challenges to tulip cultivation in Kashmir
•  Tulip cultivation in Kashmir currently depends heavily on imported bulbs, mainly from the Netherlands.
•  The short blooming period of 15–20 days limits long-term economic returns from tourism.
•  Experts highlight that climatic suitability restricts large-scale expansion to limited regions.
•  There is a need to identify varieties suitable for wider Indian climatic conditions.
Way forward
•  Experts suggest that indigenisation of bulb production is crucial for making tulip cultivation economically sustainable.
•  Expanding cultivation to other suitable regions could diversify floriculture income sources.
•  Strengthening India–Netherlands cooperation can enhance technology transfer and productivity.
•  Tulip cultivation can evolve into a high-value niche sector within India’s horticulture economy.