Category: Nature / Environment

** Bengaluru-based biotech lab develops tabletop papaya variety ‘Dawn Delight’

Developed by Thomas Biotech Lab, the papaya variety, christened ‘Dawn Delight’, grows only up to three or four feet and is best for cultivation on the terrace, balconies, and kitchen gardens.

** Brook at the end of tunnel along Karnataka-Kerala border

Interestingly, these plantations are green even during the harsh and humid summers, due to the traditional water management system called ‘Suranga’ or tunnel system adopted by many hardworking farmers. In this system, tunnels are dug horizontally through the slopes of the laterite hills until a water spring is found. Water that percolates through the hill flows into the tunnel. The water is then channelled to tanks through pipes, and used for horticulture crops through sprinkler and drip irrigation

 Vast swathes of land in the hilly regions along the Karnataka-Kerala border in Bantwal taluk of Dakshina Kannada, once dismissed as barren wasteland, are now lush with arecanut, banana and cocoa plantations, bringing rich dividends to farmers.

Interestingly, these plantations are green even during the harsh and humid summers, due to the traditional water management system called ‘Suranga’ or tunnel system adopted by many hardworking farmers. In this system, tunnels are dug horizontally through the slopes of the laterite hills until a water spring is found. Water that percolates through the hill flows into the tunnel. The water is then channelled to tanks through pipes, and used for horticulture crops through sprinkler and drip irrigation

** Organic growth of this woman farmer from Karnataka

The products coming out of her initiative Tadhvanam from this remote village in Davanagere district have reached different parts of the country and globe.

It was in 1987 that Saroja took the tiny step of entrepreneurship by starting a dairy farm and starting a unit to make coir products to bring her family’s economic position back on track. This initiative gave her first lessons in earning money from home.

63-year-old Saroja Nagendrappa Patil from Nitturu village in Harihar taluk not only grows crops organically, but also adds value to her produce, increasing her earnings. She has now become a model for the womenfolk in the region.

She also took up teaching fellow women and men farmers through an agriculture department initiative and taught them how to use available resources in their neighborhood, organic pest management and other ways of growing crops. Her stint at guiding other farmers made her a better leader and also gave her new ideas to grow crops naturally. Though initial successes were small, sustained efforts helped her in enriching the family’s 30-acre plot that gave her ever better yields.

** Researchers document 43,118 butterflies in Dakshina Kannada

The ‘winged beauties’ are a good indicator of the ecological health of a habitat

Butterflies are excellent communities to monitor the ecological health of a place. A team of researchers from Mangalore University, in collaboration with other two institutes, has identified and documented 43,118 butterflies (individuals) belonging to 175 species in Dakshina Kannada.

Of them, 22 species were habitat specific. The researchers were pursuing the ‘winged beauties’ for the past two years

** Moodambailu govt school bags Wipro Earthian Award

Dakshina Kannada Zilla Panchayat Model Higher Primary School at Moodambailu in Bantwal taluk is one among the 20 schools selected in the country and only one school in Karnataka for the Wipro Earthian Award.

The annual awards recognise excellence in sustainability in education in schools and colleges in India.

** MBA grad now a farmer, sells organic fruits

With Sankranti round the corner, an MBA graduate, who has turned a farmer, is offering basketfuls of organic, homegrown fruits to corporate offices.

Usharani Vinay, the founder of Skyo Farms, had worked in several IT companies. During the pandemic, however, she found her love for farming. She impulsively bought a piece of land in her village, Yelagalavadi in Kunigal taluk, and started farming. “We had moved back to our village during the pandemic, when we came across a piece of land for sale. I bought it and started farming,” she told TNIE.

** Doctor by day, farmer by night: Meet the Bengaluru doc behind Chikkaballapura’s ecomuseum

If Dr Narasimhaiah Srinivasaiah is not donning his white coat, he is practising ‘tropical forestry’ at his eco-museum on the foothills of Nandi Hills .

For a doctor who is treating one of the most dreaded diseases, cancer, finding time off from work is quite challenging. However, Dr Narasimhaiah Srinivasaiah is a person who wants to be close to ‘Mother Earth’. An individual who likes to see, smell, and live amidst nature, Srinivasaiah believes this to be the cure of all ailments. When is off medical work, Srinivasaiah is a horticulturist, florist and agriculturist. Following his extensive travel around US and Europe during the early 2000s, he realised the untapped horticultural space in India. Thus gave birth to Nandi Nisarga Dhama (NaNidam), an eco-museum situated on the foothills of Nandi Hills, in Chikkaballapura. 

** Celebrating life of past

A folklore museum set-up by students is a treasure trove educating the current generation of the glorious past

A museum is where a piece of the past is preserved, helping the present and future generations to wonder and learn. Making an effort to showcase the forgotten lifestyle of people of Malnad, students of Sahyadri Arts College in Shivamogga have set up a folklore museum by collecting scores of artefacts and everyday items from yore. 

Guided by Dr Mohan Chandragutti, assistant professor of Kannada at the college, these students, who are part of the National Service Scheme (NSS), have shaped the museum by collecting items that were used for cooking, farming and other day-to-day activities from three villages of Shivamogga district.