The Department of Horticulture has proposed to take up high density mango and guava cultivation and introduce hybrid papaya under National Horticulture Mission this year by offering a total subsidy of Rs. 3 crore to farmers.
Addressing a district-level seminar on fruit cultivation here on Saturday, Minister for Khadi and Village Industries Board G. Baskaran exhorted Sivaganga farmers to raise fruits by making use of red soil and water conditions, ideally suited for fruit cultivation.
Collector S. Malarvizhi, who chaired the seminar in the presence of Sivaganga MP P.R. Senthilnathan, said farmers who were roped in for fruit cultivation, need not worry about marketing as they could get good prices for their produce without the intervention of middlemen in the ‘Amma weekly sandhai’ to be established in the district.
Giving details of the NHM scheme, J. Rajendran, Deputy Director, Horticulture, said they proposed to cultivate high density mango on 100 hectares, hybrid papaya, introduced for the first time in the district, on 70 hectares and high density guava on 20 hectares. The fruit cultivation would be taken up in S. Pudur, Singampunari, Sivaganga, Kallal and Tirupattur areas.
The department, which organised block-level ‘melas’ in the first week of this month, had selected about 700 farmers, he said adding these farmers were taught canopy management of high density crops in the seminar.
The fruit saplings were ready at State Horticulture Farms at Devakottai and Nemam near Kundrakudi and the cultivation would begin in September ahead of northeast monsoon, he said.
Mr. Rajendran said the department would organise a workshop on hi-tech horticulture at Kalayarkoil on August 18 to train farmers on cultivation using poly houses, shade nets, plastic mulching (to suppress weeds), anti-bird nets and protected cultivation practices of all crops.
He said the department also proposed to cultivate hybrid vegetables, especially tomato, brinjal and green chillies on 120 hectares.
The department had readied about 40 lakh seedlings and the farmers would be given an insight into the scheme at a seminar to be held at S Pudur on August 24.
The department also proposed to cultivate cashew on about 100 hectares in Sakkottai, Devakottai and Kallal areas this year, he added.
