Cochin University of Science and Technology (Cusat) has received Indian patent for 20 years for its Portable Agriculture Network System (PANS) intended to protect flexi-stem trees such as banana plants.

The device is a boon to banana farmers haunted by killer storms frequently.

MB Santosh Kumar, Associate Professor in the IT division, is the inventor and B Kannan, professor & former HoD of Computer Applications, and Sunil Kumar N, Principal of Cusat Kuttanad campus are co-inventors. Banana plants fall under the flexi plants perennial herb category usually having pseudo stems. Many such plants in the age group of two to eight months are prone to damage from heavy winds, leading to great loss to farmers. At present, unscientific manual methods are used to tie and support the plants.

The team led by Santosh Kumar designed PANS, a system which is cost-effective, environment-friendly, portable and durable. In designing this system, the team considered the strength and durability of various banana fibres as well as other materials.

The cost is very low as it is designed from waste materials, including banana fibre, used conveyer belt etc.

“This is a great breakthrough to protect the farmers from losses and it is affordable to all. We are looking for partnerships to manufacture this product on a big scale to ensure availability of the product across the country,” KN Madhusudanan, Vice Chancellor, Cusat, said.

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