Banana cultivation as internal crop yields profits for Nalgonda farmers

Adopting a profit driven cultivation method, more than 50 farmers have taken up banana cultivation as an internal crop in mango and mosambi farms and are setting a model to other farmers.

Nalgonda: Adopting a profit driven cultivation method, more than 50 farmers have taken up banana cultivation as an internal crop in mango and mosambi farms and are setting a model to other farmers.

The farmers, who usually take up mango and mosambi, have to wait for three to five years for the crop and to get income from the cultivation. To overcome this, more than 50 farmers in the district came up with the innovative idea of taking up banana cultivation as an internal crop along with mango and mosambi crops, which they say will bring revenue for them within six months. One planted tissue culture banana plant will give yield for five years.

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A farmer-cum-fruit vendor, first, took up banana cultivation in his mango farm as internal crop as an experiment, which earned him profits. This inspired other farmers to follow his cultivation model.

Godala Krishna, a native of Nakkalapally of Narketpally mandal in the district and also owned a fruit stall, took up banana cultivation in his five acre-mango farm in his village, after which he earned a profit of Rs.1 lakh per acre last season.

Another farmer Ramaswamy, who took up cultivation of banana in his three acres at Mushampally village, said he had taken up cultivation of the Chakkarakeli variety of banana, but not as internal crop, about one and half years back. After six months of tissue culture plantation, the plants were continuously giving yield. He was earning a profit of Rs.2 lakh per acre for each general crop season. The banana production was 30 quintals per acre.

According to officials of Horticulture department, banana cultivation was taken up by some farmers at Annareddygudem, Kanagal, Cherlagowraram and other places in the district.