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The research behind Zuriyat

Muhammad Ashraf Sumrah

Principal Scientist, Barani Agricultural Research Institute, Chakwal

A horticultural scientist with more than three decades in Pakistan’s public agricultural research system, whose work on olives spans propagation, nursery production, orchard management, harvesting, processing and value addition.

Field
Horticulture · Olive research & development
Region
Soon Valley · Pothwar region · Punjab
Career began
1989
Education
M.Sc. (Hons.) Agriculture, Horticulture — University of Agriculture, Faisalabad, 1989
Muhammad Ashraf Sumrah

Career

A career in horticultural research, built in the rainfed north.

Muhammad Ashraf Sumrah is a horticultural scientist with more than three decades in Pakistan’s public agricultural research system. Since November 2021 he has served as Principal Scientist at the Barani Agricultural Research Institute, Chakwal.

His career began in 1989, first in industry at Faisalabad and then in agricultural extension at Chakwal. In 1993 he moved into research and spent the next twenty-three years at the Horticultural Research Station, Nowshera, in the Soon Valley of District Khushab: building germplasm collections, standardising nursery technology for deciduous fruit, and running the nurseries that supplied planting material to growers.

  1. 1989 – 1990 Horticulture Officer Sitara Chemical Industries, Faisalabad
  2. 1990 – 1993 Agriculture Officer Office of the E.A.D.A. (Extension), Chakwal
  3. 1993 – 2009 Assistant Research Officer Horticultural Research Station, Nowshera — Soon Valley, District Khushab Germplasm collections, nursery technology for deciduous fruit, and nurseries supplying planting material to growers.
  4. 2009 – 2016 Assistant Horticulturist Horticultural Research Station, Nowshera — Soon Valley, District Khushab
  5. 2016 – 2021 Horticulturist Barani Agricultural Research Institute, Chakwal
  6. 2021 – to date Principal Scientist Barani Agricultural Research Institute, Chakwal

Why olive

Why olive became a focus of his research.

From 2007 onward his work centred on olive, across four consecutive development projects, ending with the Centre of Excellence for Olive Research and Training (CEFORT), whose R&D he supervised.

Green and dark olives spilling from a wicker basket onto a wooden table, olive trees behind
  • Horticulture Research Area, Nowshera 110 varieties of apple, almond, peach, plum, apricot, grape, fig, nuts and olive collected for acclimatization. District Khushab.
  • Olive and fig nursery programme Started at HRS Nowshera and maintained for eight years.
  • CEFORT, BARI Chakwal R&D supervision of the Centre of Excellence for Olive Research and Training, and olive nursery management for CEFORT and BARI Chakwal.

The olive question

What had to be learned before olive could be grown here.

From 2007, his olive work followed the questions a new crop raises in rainfed land, each taken up in a project, a paper or a programme with growers.

  1. 01 How can olive be propagated reliably here? Standardization of olive propagation, 2007–2010.
  2. 02 How can plants be multiplied at scale? Rapid and mass multiplication through conventional and micro-propagation, 2013–2015.
  3. 03 Which varieties grow and yield in the Pothwar? Variety evaluation for growth and yield, published 2021.
  4. 04 What do the trees need? The nutritional requirement of olive in the Pothwar, reviewed 2021.
  5. 05 When should the fruit be picked, and for what? The harvesting stage for pickling, 2014; maturity and sherbet quality.
  6. 06 What can the fruit become, and does the crop pay? Value addition from 2007; economics and marketing of olive in Punjab, 2021.

Research areas

From growing the tree to understanding the fruit.

  • Propagation & multiplication

    Standardisation of olive propagation, and rapid mass multiplication of olive and grape through conventional and micro-propagation techniques.

    Project · 2007–2010 · Project · 2013–2015

  • Nursery production

    True-to-type olive nursery plants, an eight-year olive nursery at Nowshera, and nursery management for CEFORT and BARI Chakwal.

    Institutional record · Technology transfer · 2013

  • Orchard establishment & management

    Olive orchard establishment and management for better yield, water harvesting and irrigation, and on-site orchard management with growers.

    Training · 2012, 2013 · Technology transfer · 2013

  • Varietal evaluation

    Promising olive varieties evaluated for growth and yield under Pothwar conditions.

    First-author paper · 2021

  • Crop nutrition

    The nutritional requirement of olive in the Pothwar region, reviewed.

    Co-authored review · 2021

  • Harvesting maturity

    The harvesting stage of olive fruit for pickling, and the effect of fruit maturity on olive sherbet quality; harvesting and post-harvest handling taught to growers.

    First-author papers · Technology transfer · 2013

  • Value addition & processing

    Products developed from olive and fig fruit, and processing machinery.

    Institutional record · Master trainer · 2014

  • Economics & marketing

    The economics and marketing of olive in Punjab.

    Co-authored paper · 2021

Beyond the orchard: value addition

  • Harvesting for picklingAssessment of the harvesting stage of olive fruit for pickling in rapeseed oil with spices.First-author paper · 2014
  • Maturity and sherbetThe effect of the maturity stage of olive fruit on its sherbet quality.First-author paper
  • Products from olive and figSherbet, pickle, murabbah, jam and powder developed from olive and fig fruit, with parallel product development on peach.Institutional record
  • ProcessingTrained as a master trainer for olive processing machinery.Training · 2014
  • With growersValue addition of olive fruit taught as technology transfer.Technology transfer · 2012

Selected documented research

The records that carry the olive work.

  • 2021 · Research paper First author

    Evaluation of some promising varieties of olive (Olea europaea L.) for growth and yield under Pothwar regions of Punjab, Pakistan

    Pakistan Journal of Agricultural Research, 34(3): 446–453

  • 2014 · Research paper First author

    Assessment of harvesting stage of olive fruit for pickling in rapeseed oil with spices

    International Journal of Agriculture & Biology Sciences, 6(1): 37–41

  • 2019–2023 · Project

    Establishment of Centre of Excellence for Olive Research and Training (CEFORT)

    R&D supervision; olive nursery management for CEFORT and BARI Chakwal

The complete supporting record

Olive projects, 2007–2023 (4)
  • 2007–2010Standardization of Olive Propagation and Its Value Addition Techniques Funding: Punjab Agriculture Research Board (PARB)
  • 2012–2015Promotion of Olive Cultivation for Economic Development and Poverty Alleviation Funding: Italian and Pakistan Government
  • 2013–2015Rapid and Mass Multiplication of Olive and Grapes through Conventional and Micro-propagation Techniques Funding: Government of the Punjab
  • 2019–2023Establishment of Centre of Excellence for Olive Research and Training (CEFORT) Funding: Government of the Punjab · Role: R&D supervision; olive nursery management for CEFORT and BARI Chakwal · Location: BARI Chakwal
Olive papers, with authors and journals (5)
  • 2021Evaluation of some promising varieties of olive (Olea europaea L.) for growth and yield under Pothwar regions of Punjab, Pakistan Sumrah, M.A., M. Jan, A. Hussain, S. Akhtar, H. Nawaz, M. Afzal and H. Umar. Pakistan Journal of Agricultural Research, 34(3): 446–453
  • 2021Nutritional requirement of olive (Olea europaea L.) in Pothwar region of Pakistan: a review Jan, M., M.A. Sumrah, S. Akhtar, I.U. Haq, M.R. Anser and I. Yasmin. Sarhad Journal of Agriculture, 37(4): 1334–1341
  • 2021Economics and marketing of olive in Punjab, Pakistan Akhtar, S., M.A. Sumrah, M. Faisal, M. Jan, M.R. Anser, M.A. Iqbal, H.H. Nawaz, M. Rafique. Journal of Economic Impact, 3(3): 202–208
  • 2014Assessment of harvesting stage of olive fruit for pickling in rapeseed oil with spices Sumrah, M.A., A. Akhtar, A. Hussain, A. Bakhsh. International Journal of Agriculture & Biology Sciences, 6(1): 37–41
  • —Effect of maturity stage of olive fruit on its sherbet quality Muhammad Ashraf Sumrah, Attiq Akhtar, Allah Bakhsh, Muhammad Afzal. Year and journal not stated in the record.
Technology transfer and training (6 programmes delivered, 7 received)

Transferred to growers

  • 2012Value addition of olive fruitBARI Chakwal
  • 2013Olive orchard establishment and management for better useBARI Chakwal
  • 2013Propagation and production of true-to-type olive nursery plantsBARI Chakwal
  • 2013Harvesting and post-harvesting of olive fruitBARI Chakwal — delivered twice
  • 2014Value addition of fruits and vegetablesBARI Chakwal
  • 2014Production and management of olive, grape, citrus and winter vegetablesBARI Chakwal
  • On-site technology transfer of orchard management to growers.
  • Transfer of olive nursery production technology to registered nursery growers.

Olive training received

  • 2012Water harvesting and irrigation of olives
  • 2013Olive orchard establishment and management for better yield production
  • 2014Training of master trainers for olive processing machinery
  • 2021Wild olive grafting (training and workshop)
  • 2021Preparation of value-added products of olive fruit
  • 2021Productivity improvement of the olive industry in Pakistan (two programmes)
  • 2021National seminar on olive sector development; National Olive Festival
Other development projects on record (5)
  • 1991–1993Training and Visit (T&V Agricultural Extension)Government of the Punjab
  • 1991–1993Resource Intensive Villages (RIV Agricultural Extension)World Bank and Government of the Punjab
  • 1998–2000Intensification of Research Facilities for Development of Horticulture in Barani AreasGovernment of the Punjab
  • 2005–2013Fruit and Vegetable Development Project in PunjabGovernment of the Punjab
  • 2017–2021Sustainable Land Management Programme-IIGovernment of the Punjab
The wider horticultural record (11 papers, 6 extension and conference writings)
  • 2016Evaluation of different apricot varieties under climatic conditions of Soon ValleyJ. Agric. Res. 54(4): 727–735
  • 2003Effect of sowing time on growth behaviour of beetroot in sub-mountainous climatic conditionsAsian J. Plant Sci. 2(3): 354–357
  • 2002Mechanical bench grafting for apple propagationAsian J. Plant Sci. 1(5): 569–570
  • 2001Production of self-rooted plants in Anna cultivar of applePak. J. Bio. Sci. 4(4): 369–370
  • 2001Standardization of rootstock for apricot in the Pothohar tractOnline J. Bio. Sci. 1(5): 368
  • 2001Sowing depth effect on seed germination of peach and nursery performance in Pothohar tractOnline J. Bio. Sci. 1(5): 352–353
  • 2001Standardization of suitable almond nursery raising time under sub-mountainous climatic conditions of Pothohar tractSarhad J. Agric. 17(1): 53–54
  • 2001Effect of different scarification methods on the germination of almond nutsSarhad J. Agric. 17(2): 179–182
  • 2000Performance of some apple cultivars under sub-mountainous climatic conditionsSarhad J. Agric. 16(4): 393–395
  • 2000Effect of different planting depth of corms on the yield of saffron under Soan Valley conditionsSarhad J. Agric. 16(3): 485–487
  • 2000Standardization of rootstock for almond propagation in Pothohar areaPak. J. Bio. Sci. 3(12): 2001–2002
  • 2021Nutritional and medicinal effects of oliveUrdu article
  • 2007Prospects of deciduous fruits in Soan Valley: opportunities and constraintsNational Conference on Production and Export of Deciduous Fruits, pp. 65–70
  • 2007Prospects of floriculture in Soan ValleyInternational Symposium on Prospects of Horticulture Industry in Pakistan, Institute of Horticultural Sciences, UAF
  • 2007Training manual on peaches
  • 2001Cultivation of almond in the barani districts of PunjabZarai Digest (Urdu), pp. 38–41
  • 2001Cultivation of apple in the barani districts of PunjabZarai Digest (Urdu), pp. 34–37

Timeline

Milestones in the record.

  1. 1989
    Career in horticulture begins M.Sc. (Hons.) Horticulture, University of Agriculture, Faisalabad; first post as Horticulture Officer.
  2. 1990
    Agricultural extension, Chakwal Agriculture Officer in the barani district of Chakwal.
  3. 1993
    Into research at Nowshera Horticultural Research Station, Soon Valley, for the next twenty-three years.
  4. 2007
    Olive becomes the focus The olive propagation and value addition project begins.
  5. 2012
    Olive with growers His first recorded technology-transfer programme on olive: value addition of olive fruit. Orchard, nursery and harvesting programmes are recorded in 2013.
  6. 2014
    Harvesting for pickling First-author paper; master trainer for olive processing machinery.
  7. 2016
    To BARI Chakwal Horticulturist at the Barani Agricultural Research Institute.
  8. 2019
    CEFORT The Centre of Excellence for Olive Research and Training project begins, under his R&D supervision.
  9. 2021
    Principal Scientist Papers on olive varieties, nutrition and economics.
  10. 2023
    CEFORT project period ends As recorded: 2019–2023.

Where this meets Zuriyat

Where that knowledge still matters.

Zuriyat’s understanding of olive — how it grows in the Pothwar, when fruit is picked for pickling, and what the fruit can become — was shaped by being close to this body of work. The products on sale are Zuriyat’s own; none is presented as his formulation.

Read the Zuriyat story

The documented record

  1. Muhammad Ashraf Sumrah’s professional curriculum vitae (eight pages): appointments, projects, training, technology transfer, institutional work and publications, in its own wording.
  2. The journal papers listed under Research & publications, as cited in that record.
  3. Where the record omits a detail — a project’s role or location, a paper’s year — the page leaves it out rather than filling it.

It makes no claim that he brought olive to Pakistan or founded its olive industry, and none of it is a claim about Zuriyat’s products.

Good olive food starts
long before the jar.

For Zuriyat, the olive story begins with years of research, cultivation and learning in Pakistan’s rainfed north.

Explore the olive range