Adilabad: Follow expert advise, oil palm farmers told

Adilabad: Collector Sikta Patnaik advised farmers to follow suggestions of experts in cultivating oil palm trees and to grow financially. She visited an oil palm nursery at Madanapur village in Talamadugu mandal on Friday. Sikta said that 68,400 oil palm saplings were readied for planting in 1,368 acres under first phase and 125,400 saplings meant for plantation in 2,508 acres in the second phase in the district. She told the officials of the horticulture department to create awareness among the farmers over the crop and to make agriculture profitable.

District Horticulture Officer Srinivas Reddy said that 1.93 lakh oil palm saplings were being raised in the nursery in order to grow the crop in 3,876 acres in the district. He stated that Ugambi-ML 161 variety was chosen for ensuring profits to the growers. He added that the variety could withstand gales and would give long seeds.