Poornima Mandal-Ambikapur. Chhattisgarh is called the rice bowl. Till some time ago, the farmers of Chhattisgarh did not even think about other crops other than paddy. But due to the welfare schemes started by the Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel for the farmers, the farmers are now innovating. Taking advantage of the scheme launched by the government to replace paddy with other crops, farmers are cultivating apple in hot states like Chhattisgarh.
A young farmer from Pratappur has tried to break this myth that apple can be cultivated in cold regions. A farmer named Mukesh Garg has planted more than 100 saplings of different varieties in hot places like Pratappur in Surajpur district and some have started bearing fruits. In a few weeks, they will be fully prepared and ready to eat. It is being said that sev can be cultivated anywhere in Chhattisgarh and it can prove to be beneficial for the farmers.
Now sev can be cultivated in hot places too
Generally, the fruits of Sev are in low temperature states like Himachal Pradesh, Jammu Kashmir, Uttarakhand because the weather there is favorable for Sev cultivation. The climate of Chhattisgarh is hot, they are not considered favorable for sev and its cultivation is like a dream. But now sev can also be cultivated in hot places.
Agriculture and Horticulture Department provided special help
According to the information received from Mukesh Garg, his association with farming is from the beginning, he always tries to do something different. Meanwhile, he came to know that such a variety of apple has been developed in Himachal Pradesh which can grow in hot regions also. Mukesh contacted the Agriculture and Horticulture Department for this and planted saplings of new variety of apple in Pratappur. He understood other methods from them regarding their planting and maintenance and ordered saplings and got them planted. In a span of one year, these plants have grown to four to six feet, many have also borne fruits.
Plant apple trees like this
Regarding the methods of plant care and planting, he told that its main time is between November and February. For this, he had already prepared two by two feet pits and the pits were treated with anti-termite medicine (regent). Dung, soil and a little DAP were put in the pits and kept filled with water. The advantage of this is that the pits sit as much as they have to sit and there is no fear of breaking their fibers after planting. After this the saplings were planted in 1-2 days. They do not require much water. Watering is to be given in two to three days only in summer. It has to be kept in mind that there is no obstruction of rain water in the plants because there is a fear of rotting of the roots.
Planted a species adapted to 50 degree temperature
Mukesh Garg says that generally sev crop is grown in cold regions but maximum temperature of 50 degree is favorable for sev crop ‘Harman 99’. Along with Harman, ‘Anna’ and ‘Dorset’ varieties are also adapted to the temperature here.
