JOIN USCHDP to boost cultivation of vegetables, fruits
The department of horticulture with an objective of improving the horticulture area and to rise the confidence level of the farmers who are anxious over the delay in monsoon has implemented the Comprehensive Horticulture Development Plan (CHDP) in Mysore district.
Horticulture department is implementing the CHDP in Varuna and Doora villages to encourage farmers to grow vegetables and fruits. The department has planned to take-up cultivation with the creation of clusters to improve horticultural area.
According to deputy director H M Nagaraj, the department is at present in the process of creating associations comprising farmers in Varuna and Doora. While emphasis is on growing watermelons in Varuna, Doora is expected to become a mango cluster.
Under the CHDP, horticulture department would provide information and technical assistance to these associations. This would help in spreading the word about horticulture techniques among other farmers. The association would include women and persons belonging to different communities, the only criteria being that they should be farmers.
The CHDP aims at increasing high-density growth of vegetables such as tomato, maize and fruits such as watermelons and mangoes.
Assistant horticulture officer (AHO) Chetan revealed that associations would give farmers a higher bargaining power as traders would be directly dealing with farmer associations instead of middlemen.
With emphasis on precision farming, the department hopes to increase the crop yield. The farmers who grew 40 saplings could now grow up to 200 plants per acre. While horticulture department provides subsidy on plants, farmers would have to take up other sowing activities.
Another, AHO Swamy said that preliminary meeting to form the association was held in Varuna recently.
While the overall objective is to increase cultivation of horticulture crops, horticulture department officials believe that with modern cultivation methods taking over traditional farming, there is bound to be increase in crop production. Introduction of nurseries has helped reduce viral diseases such as white flies, apids and thribs.
Rainfall delays sowing
Even as delay in rainfall has predicted decline in agriculture output, sowing and transplantation of horticulture crops has been delayed with majority of farmers waiting for monsoon showers.
Even though farmers growing horticulture crops such as vegetables are not dependent on rainfall, they are being affected by the depleting water-levels in borewells and neighbouring water sources.
Also, another reason for ryots delaying full-scale farming is the erratic power supply in rural areas.