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Govt to boost pomegranate cultivation in Telangana
Under the Mission for Integrated Development Programme, Telangana Horticulture Department is planning to increase the area of cultivation under pomegranate to one lakh hectares in the state. It is also toying with the idea of production of value-added products using the fruit.
Hyderabad: Under the Mission for Integrated Development Programme, Telangana Horticulture Department is planning to increase the area of cultivation under pomegranate to one lakh hectares in the state. It is also toying with the idea of production of value-added products using the fruit.
The horticulture department set the target upon a study for cultivation of the crop. The fruit has good demand in the market because of its medicinal properties. The department is keen on promoting pomegranate cultivation because of the yield all through the year. It seeks to promote the fruit’s cultivation on a large scale in districts adjacent to Hyderabad.
With an annual yield of 13.50 lakh tons, India is the front runner in the world in pomegranate production. While Maharashtra occupied the first position accounting for 70 per cent of the yield, Karnataka, Gujarat, Andhra Pradesh and Telangana occupied subsequent positions.
The horticulture department extends 35 per cent subsidy on Rs 66,000 input cost for cultivation of the pomegranate in one hectare. Extending various incentives to pomegranate farmers, the subsidy is spread over a period of three years. It is extending a subsidy of 7500 per hectare to revive the old gardens. The crop is being cultivated in 2000 hectares with a resultant yield of 33,000 tons.
Therefore, the department plans to boost the production by increasing the area under the crop to one lakh hectares. Scientists of National Research Center on Pomegranate, Sholapur, achieved considerable success in developing value-added products like wine, fruit drink, oil from pomegranate seeds and ayurvedic medicines.
The products have global demand. Therefore, the horticulture department is preparing plans to produce these products in Telangana. The officials are of the view that ancilliary food industries and industries that produce value-added products will come up in a big way if pomegranate production and productivity is increased in the state.
The fruit is rich in natural estrogen. The fruit’s seed oil has vitamin-E and rare nutrients. The oil is good for heart, treating cancer and in making the bones stronger. Granatonine found in pomegranate peel is used in manufacturing of natural dyes.
