editorialteam
New Member
Improves quality and quantity of black plum with constant pruning. Supplies saplings and farm processed value added products
Black plum or Indian blackberry (called jamun in Hindi), summer fruit is packed with antioxidants and flavonoids essential for a healthy body and mind. The fruit gets good price only when it is fully ripen and unspoilt. It is a challenge for farmers to harvest the fruit from its trees that grows as high as 30-35 feet. “To overcome the problem of harvesting I decided to control the height of the tree by regular pruning every year immediately post harvesting,” says Mr. Ignesious Jeyakumar C, farmer growing jamun in his farm located in Nilakottai taluk, Dindugal district, Tamil Nadu. He sells his farm produced jamun at premium price of Rs. 150/kg. He also grows amla in his fields.
Jamun trees once grown bears the fruit for 60-70 years. It is a complete loss when the tree height is beyond reach at the time of harvesting. “With constant pruning for past few years I am able to maintain the tree’s height at 18-20 feet. Now I am able to pluck jamun conveniently as well as there is no loss due to any damage,” he adds.
Initially the seedlings were sourced from Andhra Pradesh based nursery. The saplings were transplanted keeping the distance of 8m * 8m (24 feet). “I used drip irrigation so that every drop of water is utilized effectively and efficiently. I got the first harvest after four years. Initially the production was 2 kg jamun from every tree. There are in all 80 trees in the farm,” informs Mr. Jeyakumar. Gradually the production increased and now the trees are 10 years old and yield 60-65 kg fruit each.
Mr. Jeyakumar credits increase in quantity and quality of jamun to consistent pruning of trees. He believes, “With pruning the tree does not have to spend its energy in its old branches and leaves. Instead the flowers and fruiting is enhanced.”
He preferred to stick to chemical free inputs namely poultry manure, farmyard manure, bone meal, sugar mill press mud and biofertilizers like azospirillum, phosphobacteria, vermicompost and panchagavya. “Taste of jamun produced at my farm is very sweet, seed is small and pulp is more. Every single piece weighs around 14-16 gram. It is because of the farming inputs I use. The soil and tree health is quite sturdy,” he claims.
Fruits collected are never sold to any middlemen to be resold many times till it reaches the end consumer. “I went straight to different super markets and fruit shops. I showed them my fruits. Some bargained on the price but I selected only those buyers who gave me the best price. I should have the power to decide to whom to sell and at what price!” asserts Mr. Jeyakumar. “Quality is maintained so the demand persists.”
Speaking on cost-benefit ratio, he says, “As I use natural farming inputs my production cost is quite controlled. On an average I incur the expense of Rs. 1 lakh annually for maintaining 80 trees whereas I earn Rs. 6-7 lakh selling the fruits. So my net profit is Rs. 5-6 lakh.” In addition he also generated revenue by selling the jamun saplings to other farmers. “I develop the saplings only on prior order as it takes roughly 6 months to develop the plants.”
Mr. Jeykumar finds developing sapling a lucrative activity because the expenditure is negligible compared to the selling price of every plant. “All it needs is one-time training to develop the plants and then it is repeating the same procedure year after year. Once it comes in routine it is a hassle free task!” he states.
Once the success is attained it gives confidence for expansion. It stands true for Mr. Jeyakumar who next moved on value addition. He set up a food processing unit in his farm to produce value added products of amla. “Increase in earning gets restricted by selling the fruits alone. Further it is season bound work. Therefore I decided to upgrade myself with food processing technique that will enable me to earn all round the year. Response received for my products was good and demand increased. As a result I had to buy organically produced amla fruits from reliable sources as I was short of amla harvested in my farm. Now I want to have jamun based value added products soon,” he concludes.
Contact details:
Mr. Ignesious Jeyakumar C
Nilakottai Taluk, Mettur Gate Post, Kodai road, Dindugal district, Tamil Nadu.
Mobile : 09865925193
Email : jkbiofarmdgl@gmail.com
Black plum or Indian blackberry (called jamun in Hindi), summer fruit is packed with antioxidants and flavonoids essential for a healthy body and mind. The fruit gets good price only when it is fully ripen and unspoilt. It is a challenge for farmers to harvest the fruit from its trees that grows as high as 30-35 feet. “To overcome the problem of harvesting I decided to control the height of the tree by regular pruning every year immediately post harvesting,” says Mr. Ignesious Jeyakumar C, farmer growing jamun in his farm located in Nilakottai taluk, Dindugal district, Tamil Nadu. He sells his farm produced jamun at premium price of Rs. 150/kg. He also grows amla in his fields.
Jamun trees once grown bears the fruit for 60-70 years. It is a complete loss when the tree height is beyond reach at the time of harvesting. “With constant pruning for past few years I am able to maintain the tree’s height at 18-20 feet. Now I am able to pluck jamun conveniently as well as there is no loss due to any damage,” he adds.
Initially the seedlings were sourced from Andhra Pradesh based nursery. The saplings were transplanted keeping the distance of 8m * 8m (24 feet). “I used drip irrigation so that every drop of water is utilized effectively and efficiently. I got the first harvest after four years. Initially the production was 2 kg jamun from every tree. There are in all 80 trees in the farm,” informs Mr. Jeyakumar. Gradually the production increased and now the trees are 10 years old and yield 60-65 kg fruit each.
Mr. Jeyakumar credits increase in quantity and quality of jamun to consistent pruning of trees. He believes, “With pruning the tree does not have to spend its energy in its old branches and leaves. Instead the flowers and fruiting is enhanced.”
He preferred to stick to chemical free inputs namely poultry manure, farmyard manure, bone meal, sugar mill press mud and biofertilizers like azospirillum, phosphobacteria, vermicompost and panchagavya. “Taste of jamun produced at my farm is very sweet, seed is small and pulp is more. Every single piece weighs around 14-16 gram. It is because of the farming inputs I use. The soil and tree health is quite sturdy,” he claims.
Fruits collected are never sold to any middlemen to be resold many times till it reaches the end consumer. “I went straight to different super markets and fruit shops. I showed them my fruits. Some bargained on the price but I selected only those buyers who gave me the best price. I should have the power to decide to whom to sell and at what price!” asserts Mr. Jeyakumar. “Quality is maintained so the demand persists.”
Speaking on cost-benefit ratio, he says, “As I use natural farming inputs my production cost is quite controlled. On an average I incur the expense of Rs. 1 lakh annually for maintaining 80 trees whereas I earn Rs. 6-7 lakh selling the fruits. So my net profit is Rs. 5-6 lakh.” In addition he also generated revenue by selling the jamun saplings to other farmers. “I develop the saplings only on prior order as it takes roughly 6 months to develop the plants.”
Mr. Jeykumar finds developing sapling a lucrative activity because the expenditure is negligible compared to the selling price of every plant. “All it needs is one-time training to develop the plants and then it is repeating the same procedure year after year. Once it comes in routine it is a hassle free task!” he states.
Once the success is attained it gives confidence for expansion. It stands true for Mr. Jeyakumar who next moved on value addition. He set up a food processing unit in his farm to produce value added products of amla. “Increase in earning gets restricted by selling the fruits alone. Further it is season bound work. Therefore I decided to upgrade myself with food processing technique that will enable me to earn all round the year. Response received for my products was good and demand increased. As a result I had to buy organically produced amla fruits from reliable sources as I was short of amla harvested in my farm. Now I want to have jamun based value added products soon,” he concludes.
Contact details:
Mr. Ignesious Jeyakumar C
Nilakottai Taluk, Mettur Gate Post, Kodai road, Dindugal district, Tamil Nadu.
Mobile : 09865925193
Email : jkbiofarmdgl@gmail.com