A range of newly-developed turmeric variants would soon be launched commercially in farms across Telangana to better the yield and shorten the farming cycle.
In a consultative meeting organised at Centre for Excellence on turmeric value chain addition, farmers, scientists and horticulturists agreed that new turmeric variants would reduce the duration of cultivation by two months. Traditional variants including Erraguntur, Armoor and Duggirala red variants often take eight to nine months for cultivation whereas the new variants, including PTSN, ACC-48 and ACC-79, reduce cultivation time to six to seven months and have a higher yield.
The new variants were developed over the past three years as a result of collaboration between scientists of Indian Institute of Spice Research, Indian Council of Agricultural Research, Horticulture and Agriculture universities of Telangana and National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development.
Speaking at the meeting, Director of Horticulture Department L. Venkatram Reddy asked farmers to use the new variant as, “they consume less water and produce more crop”. The new variants are also resistant to rot and pests, thereby reducing dependence on harmful pesticides, he pointed out.
The Horticulture Department had introduced the new variants in some farms in Nirmal, Armoor, Nizamabad, Adilabad and Warangal. Farmers from seven districts of Telangana were present at the consultation organised on Tuesday. Telangana cultivates turmeric in 50,000 hectares. With the new variants, experts advised farmers to introduce modern irrigation techniques. Bed raising method of farming, paired row cultivation and drip irrigation would help reduce cost, scientists opined. The new variants would also increase the value of turmeric crop because their produce is richer in curcumin and oleoresin — the pigments found in turmeric. Both are extracted for commercial purposes. The new variants would also produce better turmeric powder for culinary purposes, experts found.
The variants would dominate the turmeric market by the coming year, it is expected.
