Maharashtra Promotes Orchids

[rgiridhar]

Indian Express Pune, August 25:

When the Hi-Tech Floriculture Project at city-based College of Agriculture procured 4,000 saplings of orchids from Aurangabad five months ago, it was a first for the city considering orchids are not grown here. Only four acres of land in Maharashtra are under orchid cultivation.

Yet, the demand for this exotic flower is high. “Over 50 per cent of the demand in the city is met with by imports,” said project manager Anand A Chaugule. Grown over 500 square metres of land at the college campus, this is a demonstration project set up to extend this technology to farmers.

Unlike other plants, orchids should not be grown in the soil. They grow in coconut shells at the campus here though brick pieces and charcoal can also be used. “The roots take in moisture from the air while the plants grow best in shade houses where the light is reduced and maintained at the level of 25,000 lux,” said Chaugule. At the campus, black nets are used to maintain the light intensity, while misters — which sprinkle water — are used to regulate the humidity.

The college spent nearly Rs nine lakh to set up the project. “We used flowering plants — already a year old — for demonstration purposes. But the minimum infrastructure is at least Rs five to seven lakh, which is the same for roses, gerbera or carnation,” he said, adding that the project is in fact targeted at nearly 3,000 farmers across the state who are into these flowers.

One reason why there are so few takers is that the waiting period before the plant flowers is about a year. Further, each plant will flower up to three times till the third year. From the third year onwards though, it can go up to six times. An orchid plant has a lifetime of a decade.

The cost of an orchid at Rs 50 per sapling is steep too. A six-month rose sapling costs Rs six to eight and carnation Rs eight. But consider the benefits: “After the initial expenditure — which is similar to roses, gerbera and carnations — the recurring cost for orchids is at Rs two per plant per annum. The production cost is less compared to the other plants while the saleability of orchids and the demand for the flower is good,” said Chaugule.

While the average retail price for one orchid stem goes up to Rs 20, farmers get Rs eight to 10 for a flowering stem and can expect to make Rs 1.25 lakh for orchid cultivation in a 500 square metre plot in the second and third years. “It can go up to Rs 2.4 lakh from the fourth year onwards. And the input cost, after the initial expense, is not more than Rs 24,000 per annum,” Chaugule said. Besides, orchids have a shelf life of 15-30 days. This is what the project aims to show.

With the transport of imported orchids taking time, the shelf life naturally gets reduced from close to a month to a week, which can be avoided once they are grown in the state.

The campus will hold an exhibition of its project in November. And orchids will be among them.