KOPPAL: While many are facing a financial crunch due to the lockdown, a farmer in Koppal district has earned over Rs 55 lakh from his four acres.
He cultivated 15 tonnes of pomegranate on each acre, and supplied it to Tamil Nadu, for which he got a price of Rs 96/kg.
If there was no lockdown, he would have got a minimum of Rs 150/kg, which would have earned him Rs 90 lakh.
Shrinivasreddy Kaladagi,45, who is an MA and BEd, lives in Alavandi village of Koppal taluk.
He said that his family has 26 acres of agricultural land.
“As my two brothers are working in Gadag and Pune, I am farming on the land, along with my father and wife.
We have planted 1,800 pomegranate trees on 10 acres, and custard apple on 5 acres.
Guava, jamun and tamarind trees are planted on the remaining land.
The current crop of pomegranate of super bhagwa variety was planted on 4 acres, 3 years ago.
In the first year, we had got a yield of 14 tonnes, and in the second year, we got a yield of 20 tonnes.
This year we got a yield of 60 tonnes, which we sold for Rs 96/kg and earned over Rs 55 lakh.
Despite heavy rain, we could get a yield of 15 tonnes per acre, due to looking after our plants.
We used vermicompost and neem powder for the trees, and nets to avoid sunburn and viruses, and used a minimum quantity of pesticides, only when it was absolutely necessary,” he said.
He recalled that the price of pomegranate was Rs 190/kg two months ago.
“As our crop was delayed, we got the current best price of Rs 96/kg.
If there was no lockdown, the price would have been at least Rs 150/kg, as our produce is of export quality.
However, getting a large yield protected us, as we got a better income,” he said.
He credited his older brother Hanumareddy Kaladagi, an industrialist in Pune, for sharing advanced knowledge of agriculture, and the success story of pomegranate growers in Maharashtra, which encouraged him to grow the fruit.
When asked about marketing, he said he had shown his crop via video calls to buyers in Chennai and Coimbatore.
Vijayamahantesh Hottin, assistant horticulture officer, Koppal, who used to visit Kaladagi’s field, observed that utilising benefits extended by the department, Kaladagi had grown pomegranates cultivated in tissue culture, which was brought from Maharashtra.
“While the average yield is 8-9 tonnes per acre in the region for pomegranates, Kaldagi applied advanced technologies like drip irrigation, to achieve high density in cultivation.
He used anti-bird nets to avoid the 15% loss that normally occurs due to the menace of birds.
He also utilised the horticulture department’s helpline,” he said.