History:
Established in 1960 under the administrative control of the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR). It was transferred to DRDO under the control of the Defense Science Laboratory, Delhi, in 1962 in order to make the hostile terrain of Ladakh (the provinces of Jammu and Kashmir) reasonably green and productive, to sustain not only its sparse population but also military and paramilitary forces deployed in this area.

Activities:
The laboratory is currently carrying research on agro-animal activities in cold arid high altitude region of Ladakh, with a view to enhance the availability of fresh foods like vegetables, fruits, milk, meat, and eggs for the troops deployed in the area throughout the year.

The laboratory has identified about 63 types of suitable vegetables and their improved varieties for cultivation and standardization of their agro-techniques. It also has developed appropriate technology for protected cultivation (solar green house) of vegetables during frozen winters (up to negative 20° C); standardized and demonstrated vegetable storage and seed production technology; developed cold arid poultry production technology; standardized and demonstrated dairy farming techniques for Ladakh; conserved and multiplied local genotypes/varieties of apricot and apples; introduced, evaluated, propagated and commercialized new and improved varieties of fruits and flowers in the cold arid region of Ladakh; developed post harvest, storage and processing/value addition techniques in locally produced fresh food items; developed a database on cold arid agro-animal technology; demonstrated to, consulted, and trained field staff, farmers, and troops on modern agro-animal technologies developed by the laboratory; improved economic conditions of local farmers through agro-animal production; and enhanced the local availability of fresh food items like vegetables, fruits, milk, eggs, and meat to troops in substantial quantity. It also created an herbal drink rich in vitamins that does not freeze at -22 degrees Celsius, thus allowing troops to serve in high altitudes.

The laboratory has facilities that allow it to work on protected vegetable cultivation, vegetable seed production, organic farming, artificial insemination, and cattle breeding.

The laboratory with the Phytochemical Research Unit, Regional Research Unit Trivandrum, has begun a phytochemical investigation to isolate and identify the nutritional or medicinal purposes of Indian Seabuckthorn. It has also worked with the Defense Agricultural Research Laboratory in Pithoragarh, the Defense Research Laboratory, Tezpur, the Defense Institute of Physiological and Allied Sciences, Delhi, the Defense Food Research Laboratory, Mysore, the Defense Research & Development Establishment, Gwalior, the Institute of Nuclear Medicine and Allied Sciences, Delhi, the Snow & Avalanche Study Establishment, Manali, the Defense Research Laboratory, Jodhpur, the Indian Council of Agricultural Research, New Delhi, the Bhaba Atomic Research Centre, Mumbai, the TATA Energy Research Institute, New Delhi, the Wildlife Institute of India, Dehradun, the Regional Research Laboratory (CSIR), Trivendrum, the Institute of Himalayan Bio-resource Technology (CSIR), Palampur, the World Wide Fund for Nature, the Indian Agricultural Research Institute, New Delhi, the Indian Veterinary Research Institute, Izatnagar, the National Afforestation & Eco-Development Board, the Regional Centre, Solan, the Central Institute for Temperate Horticulture, Srinagar, the Sher-e-Kashmir University of Agricultural Sciences & Technology, Srinagar, Dr Y S Parmar University of Horticulture & Forestry, and the Solan Himachal Pradesh Agriculture University, Palampur, on a number of different projects.

Key Sources: Phytochemical Studies on Indian Seabuckthorn; Field Research Laboratory; "Indian Glimpses: Previous Stories," Baroda, 29 December 2001.

	Updated September 2003