Bloom Time for Gerbera Cultivator

[rgiridhar]

Hindu 1-Nov-07

Vagaries of the monsoon, pest attack and low price for the produce have been taking a heavy toll on farmers. Even after facing several problems farmers prefer to grow only the regular crop varieties such as paddy, vegetables and sugarcane, as very few are adventurous enough to try and raise new crops.

One such young farmer, Mr. P. Elango (31 years of age) of Avinashi taluka of Coimbatore district in Tamil Nadu has been able to break out of this chain of growing sugarcane and paddy in his ancestral land and has been successful in growing cut flower variety named gerbera in his 24 cent land (about 1000 sq.mt).

Cut flower has always been considered to be a crop of hilly regions, where the cool climate favours their luxurious growth. But Mr. Elango has broken this myth.
Lot of interest

The success of growing gerbera in the plains has evoked a lot of interest and curiosity among the people in his district. Several Government officials have been visiting his farm after hearing about his success in the venture.

Cultivating gerbera in a poly house, that too in the plains, was by no means an easy task for him. Though there are a number of other cut flower varieties, Mr. Elango was interested in growing only gerbera because, “all other cut flowers require lesser humidity compared to gerbera.

It is difficult to create a cool atmosphere in the plains like that of the hills but it is easy to create heat and humidity inside a polyhouse in a controlled environment for growing this flower,” he said.

With limited exposure to the field, he started his enterprise initially by planting about 6,000 plants.

As these plants grow well in red soil he also bought red soil for about Rs. 20,000 and constructed long platforms and planted in them.

“I had to face severe cold shouldering when I applied for a bank loan for erecting the poly house.

“Many banks refused to extend loan facility for me stating that these flowers can grow only in the hills, and it will be a disaster if I even attempt to grow them in the plains.

“I then decided to spend my own money and erected the poly house. I spent nearly Rs. 9,00,000 (rupees nine lakhs) for buying the plants, soil, erecting the polyhouse, sprinklers and fog machines. I was given a subsidy of Rs.3.25 lakhs from the National Horticultural Mission,” he explained.
Carefully documented

The Directorate of Extension Education of TNAU, Coimbatore, on hearing about his enterprise visited his farm and advised him on the right method of applying fertilizers, hormones and irrigation techniques.

“I devotedly followed their guidelines and every stage of crop growth was carefully documented by the researchers,” he said.

Gerbera flowers come to harvest in about 90 days after planting and Elango was able to harvest about 550 flowers during the first harvest. The harvest is done three times a week and the flowers were sold initially for Rs.3 each.

At present he is selling each flower for Rs.5-6 as the demand for his flowers has gone up. “Even if I had planted sugarcane, which was done by my ancestors, I would have been able to get only Rs. 70,000 as gross income in one year. But now I have been able to earn Rs.45,000 as gross income in about 3 months.

“But the real happiness for me is that at present there are a number of farmers who have been approaching me for assistance and encouragement to start this enterprise,” he said.

But how many small farmers will have the financial backing to invest in such a costly enterprise such as growing the flowers in a polyhouse?
Banks should encourage

“Banks should come forward to encourage small farmers like us by extending credit facilities.

“Though the Government has been trying to help us by announcing subsidies and credit facilities, in reality we are not given encouragement by the local bank and insurance companies concerned when we approach them for credit and insurance coverage for starting some new enterprise.

“Take my own case as an example. During strong winds the sheets of my poly house get torn and insurance companies are not ready to extend coverage to the polyhouses.

Polyhouses are considered to be the womb of good growth of cut flowers without which one cannot achieve success in this field,” he said.

Readers can contact Mr. P. Elango, Puthottam, Karaipalayam, Nambiyampalayam Panchayat, Avinashi taluk, Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu, mobile: 94433-72383.