Sun shines on sunflower crop on State border

The flowering season for the kharif crop of sunflower is on, and large sunflower farms welcome travellers to Cumbom in Tamil Nadu which borders Idukki district.

July 30, 2014 11:02 am | Updated 03:10 pm IST - KATTAPPANA

Sunflower farm near Cumbum on the Cumbum Mettu- Cumbum road on the border of Idukki district with Tamil Nadu. Photo: Giji K Raman

Sunflower farm near Cumbum on the Cumbum Mettu- Cumbum road on the border of Idukki district with Tamil Nadu. Photo: Giji K Raman

The Kattappana-Cumbum Mettu-Cumbum route is a visual delight now.

The flowering season for the kharif crop of sunflower is on, and large sunflower farms welcome travellers to Cumbum in Tamil Nadu which borders Idukki district.

The flowers in bloom are also a sign of the shift in farming trend — from that of vegetables to sunflower.

Farmers say the time needed for growing sunflowers is less than that for vegetables. However, much care has to be taken in the initial two months.

A bright climate with moderate rain is needed for a good harvest, Mahalakshmi, a farmer says. Compared to other crops, daily care is needed in the initial period of growth with complete weed control and timely moderate rain.

The summer rain was favourable this time, she says.

Duraisami, another farmer, says sunflower is more sensitive to weather conditions than vegetable crops. If the yield is average and the prices steady, it is more profitable. However, if the weather is unfavourable and timely application of fertilizer and weed control are not done, the entire crop can be in peril.

There is a trend in favour of sunflower cultivation now, though it has been slowly picking up for the past five years.

Even then, only a fraction of the total area that is under vegetable cultivation is used for growing sunflower.

This kharif season, a large number of farmers opted for sunflower as it fetched a good price the last season, Mahalakshmi says.

Mahalakshmi says once the sunflower seeds are harvested, the land is used for cultivation of beans, potato, or cabbage the next season.

The seeds are harvested for making edible sunflower oil and manufacturing soaps and cosmetics.

For visitors, from the Ghat road to the plains, it is yellow fields of full-grown sunflowers all round, heralding the kharif season (from June to September).

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