A Vijayawada college is using QR codes on local plant species to help conserve them

Anyone with a smartphone can use a QR code scanning app to scan the code and see the scientific name and family of the plant.
A Vijayawada college is using QR codes on local plant species to help conserve them
A Vijayawada college is using QR codes on local plant species to help conserve them
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In an effort to save the local plant species around Vijayawada, the Department of Botany at the Siddhartha College of Arts and Science has proposed tagging trees in the Mogalrajapuram area with QR codes. The department has already completed tagging trees in the college grounds earlier this year with the help of students, and now wishes to extend the initiative beyond the campus.

The Botany Head of the Department, Srinivas Reddy, says that people are often curious to know about a plant that is in front of them but may not know what to look for, even if they were to do a Google search.

“We see QR codes on product packaging, which is used to find out more about the product. We thought why not do the same thing for the campus trees. We already knew about them, all we had to do was generate QR codes and display them on the plants. Anyone with a smartphone can download a QR code scanning app, scan the code and see the scientific name and family of the plant. After that, there is massive amounts of information one can find on the internet,” Srinivas says.

The college grounds also has an herbal garden with up to 60 different varieties of medicinal plants. Other than these, there are more than 20 different types of plants, like flowering plants from the genus Terminalia, Ficus plants, different types of palms, bamboo, and others.

Curious residents of Vijayawada can stop by the garden any time during the day to take a look at the trees and learn more about their nature and uses. “Walkers who use the grounds in the morning are also seen scanning the codes and reading more,” Srinivas says.

The department has also brought in a few trees found mainly in the forests of the region, like the Gloriosa superba, and the Gyrocarpus americanus which is used in the making of Kondapalli toys. A proposal has been tabled with the Vijayawada Municipal Corporation to allow the students and teachers of the Botany department to put up the codes in the surrounding area of Mogalrajapuram as well.

“Apart from the scientific name, we would also like to mention their current status. The IUCN (International Union for Conservation of Nature) categorises the status of every plant species every year. If we mention the status in the QR code, whether a species is vulnerable, or endangered, or nearing extinction, we hope it will also encourage people to grow more of these trees and conserve them,” Srinivas says.

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