DINDIGUL: Conversion of cash crop fields like coffee farms into fruit yards by raising exotic fruits as intercrop, adoption of advanced irrigation techniques and good agricultural practices will not only make agriculture remunerative but also help farmers overcome labour shortage and pest attack.
This was the main point stressed by scientists and research scholars at a workshop on ‘New crop diversification options in coffee-based cropping system in south India’ held here on Tuesday.
In his special address, Tamil Nadu Agricultural University Professor M. Anandan said the ideal climate condition on Lower Palani Hill helped farmers harvest pepper twice a year whereas it was a single crop in other parts of the world. At present, 95% of the area under coffee cultivation was rain-fed, and the remaining area irrigated.
Cultivating fruits such as avocado, longan, rambutan, egg fruit and mangosteen as intercrop for coffee would help farmers get additional income. Avacoda was an ideal crop for Lower Palani Hill. The fruit also commanded a good market. Besides, citron, chow-chow and beans could be grown in coffee farms for the first three years. Later, fruit plants could be grown as they would help maintain shade in the farms, he added.
Pechiparai Horticulture Research Station head R. Swarna Priya suggested cultivation of bush pepper instead of creeper pepper. Bush pepper could be grown in pots and in fields. Vietnam, which had been raising bush pepper as the main crop, topped in its production and productivity, and exported the commodity to other countries.
Ms. Swarna Priya said while Vietnam harvested two tonnes of bush pepper per hectare, Malaysia harvested one tonne. India’s production was 275 kg.
Retaining aged plants, improper shade management, competition from companion crops and low inputs were some of the reasons for low production. Bush pepper would scale down labour and production would be throughout the year, she said.
Other speakers said cultivation of exotic fruits had become popular in Kerala and Karnataka. These fruits were highly remunerative. Expanding markets, possibility of value-added products and exports were the advantages of cultivating them. Banana and orange were high water-consuming products, they said.
