In A Bid To Try Something Different, UP Farmer Chooses To Cultivate Pink-Coloured Dragon Fruit
A farmer from Bijnor has started the cultivation of a seasonal dragon-fruit or a pink colored fruit which is indigenous to Central America. The fruit is rich in phytonutrients and antioxidants and helps build strong teeth and bones.
A farmer from Bijnor has started the cultivation of a seasonal dragon-fruit or a pink coloured fruit to yield more profits, a fruit which is indigenous to Central America. The fruit is rich in phytonutrients and antioxidants and helps build strong teeth and bones.
Though the traditional source of agricultural income in Uttar Pradesh is sugarcane farming, Adesh Kumar who is a graduate and first dragon fruit grower in Salava village of Noorpur area started the cultivation of this fruit on his 5-bigha land last year, TOI reported.
Photo: BCCL
The fruit takes time to cultivate and appears nearly after one and a half years. The fruit has now started showing some signs of development and horticulture department said that if this fruit is cultivated properly then it can lead to an income of Rs 1 lakh in a year on one-bigha land.
What is interesting is the fact that Kumar had watched a video of dragon-fruit farming on YouTube last year following which he gathered more knowledge about the crop, its market as well as profit.
Photo: TOI/ Adesh cultivates dragon fruit in Bijnor
He acquired the dragon fruit plant for Rs 50 to Rs 80 per piece from a Maharashtra based NGO. Adesh then developed the infrastructure for the growth of the fruit.
Adesh told TOI, First, I had installed cemented pillar in the fields and put a cemented wheel on the top of the pillar. The plant of the fruit develops in the shape of vine which climbs up the pillar. Around 400 plants were installed in the area of five-bigha land. I have spent around Rs 5 to 6 lakh to develop infrastructure and install plants in five bigha of agriculture land here.¡±
The plant bears less fruits initially but as time passes its numbers get increased. The season plant can bear fruits upto 15 years and if things go as planned then a farmer can earn riches of about a lakh in a year from practicing its cultivation on one bigha land.
Dragon fruit maintains sugar and cholesterol in the body and also increases the platelet count. It costs Rs 50 to Rs 100 in the market and its demand in Indian markets is increasing steadily.
