Bogampadu farmer reaping rich with banana cultivation

Karimnagar: A farmer of Bogampadu village, Mula Srinivas, is reaping profits by taking up banana cultivation instead of following traditional crops like paddy, maize, wheat, cotton etc in the village of Yellanthakunta mandal.

After deciding to cultivate a crop that has good demand in the market, Srinivas took up banana cultivation and earning profits over Rs 1 lakh per one acre with 30 tonnes yield, by investing just Rs 45,000.

By adopting high density plantation, he planted 1,600 saplings of Grand-9 variety, which was developed with tissue culture technique in an acre of land. Each sapling was purchased at a cost of Rs 12 and planted them at a distance of 5 x 6 feet. He used drip irrigation for watering and used fertilizers. The crop started flowering after seven months and gave fruits after ten months.

Srinivas had adopted scientific method for the farming of bananas and reaping profits and emerged as a role model for other farmers. The first crop usually takes 12 months for harvesting and the second crop would arrive within seven to eight months.

Agriculture Technology Management Agency (ATMA) Project Director Priya Darshini said that farmer Mula Srinivas had become a role model in the district by taking banana cultivation by adopting scientific methods and using the high density plantation method and tissue culture saplings. With less investment, the farmer had earned good revenue, she said and added that there was good demand for the banana fruit in the market due to varied uses and cultivation of banana crops would definitely help the farmers reap riches, she added.