The Minister for Horticulture, Syed Basharat Ahmed Bukhari today called upon the horticulture department to assess the potential area available under various departmental public sector nurseries and revenue orchards for undertaking cultivation area expansion drives in Jammu province.The Minister said that areas in such nurseries and orchards which are not under cultivation and are defunct for a long time hold a potential for boosting horticulture production in the region.“For registering higher growth rates in horticulture crops it is essential to undertake holistic and area specific cultivation expansion, besides introducing high yield variety crops”, Bukhari said.The Minister maintained that government is keen to develop all these potential areas to increase the productivity so as to give more benefits to the farmer community.The government has already taken a series of steps in this regard, whereas, many others are in the pipeline.Long term plan of action will be developed once the details are compiled and assessed.