M.P.M. Nair

M.P.M. Nair has been deeply concerned about climate change and its impact on sustainable food systems since the 1970’s. Since Canadians heat their homes during the cold months, he reasoned that light rather than heat is the limiting factor for indoor edible food crops. So began his journey breeding fruits and vegetables whose genetic variation could be exploited to grow successfully in low light indoor conditions. A self-taught plant breeder, Nair has developed some surprising and innovative fruit and vegetable cultivars that can be grown indoors year-round on a windowsill without artificial lighting to supplement family food supply.
 
“You want to grow citrus on the prairies? You can’t do that.” Always up for a challenge, these words from a respected friend inspired Nair to breed lemons and limes that can be grown indoors on a windowsill. Nair recounts that “As a young boy who liked fresh lemonade in summer, I remembered a lemon plant which only grew in the shade of banana plantations at our family home. I brought back some rooted cuttings with a permit to try to use this plant as the parent.” 
 
His astute observation translated neatly into the idea of growing citrus plants indoors under low light conditions. It has taken Nair countless painstaking crosses to arrive at several citrus plants that meet his criteria for low light tolerance, almost continuous fruit production, juicy aromatic seedless fruit, multi-culinary use (leaf, rind, flower, and fruit) and semi-dwarf growth habit. Their dwarf characteristics makes them suitable for growing in 6” to gallon pots on an east, west or south-facing windowsill in almost any indoor home environment in Canada.
 
After 40 years of breeding work, Nair’s first two citrus ready to release are called ‘First Canadian’ lemon and ‘First Canadian Golden’ lime. Both have US Patents and are registered under Plant Breeders Rights in Canada. Pending license agreements, Nair has selected propagators who will propagate and distribute these plants, and expects them to be on the market in the next couple of years.
 
Ever tenacious, Nair continues to breed Low Light Tolerant (LLT Plant® is his registered trademark) citrus as well as many varieties of vegetables such as amaranth, brassicas, perilla, other leafy greens, as well as root crops that can be grown indoors in a Canadian home.  These plant innovations may forever change what home gardeners expect of houseplants in the future.