Agriculture – Page 2 – Karnataka First

Karnataka Farmer Grows 700 Different Types of Exotic Fruits in His Farm

Anil Balanja, a farmer in Karnataka, has been growing exotic fruits from 40 different nations on his land for the past 20 years.

Anil Balanja, a native of Karnataka, grew up seeing his father grow several jackfruit and mango varieties. He always knew he wanted to be a farmer, and at the age of 19, he began by sowing areca, coconut, and rubber.

The youngster made the decision to emulate his father five years ago. On his farm, he grew a variety of exotic fruits that are uncommonly grown in the nation. This includes foods like avocados, Malaysian santol, Indonesian kepel, and many others.

Currently, Anil’s farm in the Dakshina-Kannada district is flourishing with over 700 exotic fruit types gathered from 40 different nations. Each fruit’s seeds are obtained from nurseries and his international pals.

Additionally, he maintains a thorough record of every fruit, including its scientific name, therapeutic properties, ideal growing temperature, and kind of soil. To continue growing the fruits he collected, he now owns and operates his own nursery.

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Ranganathittu bird sanctuary is Karnataka’s first Ramsar site

Ranganathittu sanctuary also finds a place in the Important Bird Areas (IBA) list of 42 sites in Karnataka that are identified by the Bombay Natural History Society.

After a wait of over ten years, Karnataka got its first Ramsar site on Wednesday.

The ministry of environment, forests and climate change (MoEFCC) declared Ranganathittu Bird Sanctuary in Mandya as a Ramsar site. With this, the forest department, local administration and tourism department will not just be able to ensure better conservation but also scale up its eco-tourism potential to international standards. Located in the mid-stream of the Cauvery river, Ranganathittu is an integral part of the wetland system and spreads across 517.70 hectares.

It also finds a place in the Important Bird Areas (IBA) list of 42 sites in Karnataka that are identified by the Bombay Natural History Society. Ranganthittu houses 188 species of plants, 225 species of birds, 69 species of fish, 13 species of frogs, 98 species of medicinal plants and 30 species of butterflies.

It is an important breeding site for around 20 species of water birds, 17 of which breed on trees growing on islands on the spot. It houses healthy populations of mugger crocodiles (Crocodylus palustris), smooth-coated otter (Lutrogale perspicillata) and the endangered hump-backed mahseer fish (Tor remadevii).

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Students from Karnataka on mission to create green sanitary pads

Once considered a taboo topic to discuss in public, the way Indians now think about menstruation has seen a paradigm shift in recent years. The National Family Health Survey reveals that close to 50 per cent of women in the 15-24 age group still use cloth for menstrual protection. It is a health risk if an uncleaned cloth is reused as it could lead to several infections.

But there is a group of warriors fighting this menace. There is a quiet revolution going on among biotechnology students of BIET, Davanagere, who are producing sanitary napkins using areca husks.

Dr NS Manjunath, head of biotechnology department and a graduate in MSc inmicrobiology from Kalaburagi University, is the man behind this innovation. He has been taking up research in this field which has prompted his students to take up the challenge of producing napkins and diapers from biodegradable raw material.

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Mangaluru: Coconut pickle, rusk, papad – Innovation by farm producer company

The price of coconut has slumped to all time low. The farmers who earn their livelihood through coconut farming are devastated. However, a coconut farm produce company in Dakshina Kannada is trying to get good returns to coconut farmers by producing pickle, papad and rusk from coconut.

“Coconut pickle is manufactured using 10 month ripe coconut. Oil content will be less in this. That is why the pickle will not get spoilt for long time. Right now one lac bottle of coconut pickle is ready. Our intention is to release the same in Kerala, Gujarat and overseas market,” says president of the company Prasad Shetty.

Vice president of the company Kusumaraj says, “Pickle manufacturing is under process as coconuts selected from farmers are sent to research division of Bengaluru. Later a manufacturing unit will be established in Puttur.”

Farmers celebrate Mannettina Amavasye with great reverence

Mannettina Amavasye, which is considered a farmer festival, was celebrated across Yadgir district by the farming community.

Farmers brought bullocks made of mud and offered a special puja to them and kept them on the top of their roof.

“Farmers believe that they will get sufficient rainfall if they observe this amavasye. They clean and plough the land in the summer to sow seeds in the monsoon. The bullocks play an important role and help farmers in tilling land and growing crops. Thus, they treat them as god,” Mallikarjun Satyampet, a farmer leader and State convener of Rajya Raitha Sangh, said.

The farmers offer puja to every farming equipment before they use it for agriculture activities. But, here, they offer puja to bullocks made of mud, which they treat as live bullocks, to seek sufficient rainfall for their crops.

“We worship mud-made bullocks with great reverence as we offer puja to live bullocks which are the most useful for us and we feel happy in celebrating every festival that is connected to farmers,” he added.

Karnataka’s first wild orchidarium to come up at Kali Tiger Reserve

In an effort to conserve the wild orchid varieties of Karnataka, the forest department is all set to establish an orchidarium in Kali Tiger Reserve (KTR) of Uttara Kannada district.

In an effort to conserve the wild orchid varieties of Karnataka, the forest department is all set to establish an orchidarium in Kali Tiger Reserve (KTR) of Uttara Kannada district. The orchidarium is being constructed at Nujji vilage of Joida (Supa) taluk of the district and soon, it will be open for nature enthusiasts and visitors.

The building work has been completed and about 40 varieties of wild orchids that are found in KTR are being grown in the orchidarium. In the coming days, most of the orchid varieties found in the Western Ghats will be added, said Sachin Anil Punekar, Conservation Biologist and Founder of Biospheres-Ecosphere who has been helping the KRT set up the orchidarium project. The Western Ghats is home for a rich orchid population and a majority of them are found in the Kali Tiger Reserve, especially in the Anshi region of Uttara Kannada district. “Out of 170 orchid species that are found in Karnataka, 80 species are from the Anashi region alone. Nearly 20 wild orchids are endemic to this region only. The orchidarium will act as a rescue and rehab site for wild orchids,” Punekar said.

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Bidar farmer achieves what is considered impossible

A farmer hailing from Ghatboral village of Humnabad taluk in Bidar district has achieved that which is considered impossible for many of his peers. Apparao D. Bhosle has successfully created his own apple orchard on three acres of land.

Bhosle knew that Humnabad taluk is no Kashmir Valley but he was determined to prove that anything can be grown if there is fertile soil.

While the apple trees of this variety usually bear fruit in about four-five years in Kashmir and Himachal Pradesh, the saplings planted on his land started flowering and bearing fruit within two years. The trees bore 20 to 25 fruits and the yield is expected to be better in the second harvest. Though the fruits are small, they are tasty. The trees have grown 10 ft to 12 ft in height, Bhosle said.

Karnataka crushes record 622 lakh tonnes of sugarcane

Sugar factories in Karnataka have crushed a record 622.26 lakh tonnes of sugarcane in the year 2021-22, 181.14 lakh tonnes more than last year.

Sugar factories in Karnataka have crushed a record 622.26 lakh tonnes of sugarcane in the year 2021-22, 181.14 lakh tonnes more than last year. Speaking to the media after chairing a meeting with members of the Sugarcane Control Board, Sugar Minister Shankar Patil Munenakoppa said sugar factories in Karnataka have produced 59.78 lakh tonnes of sugar during the same period.

According to the minister there are 89 registered sugar factories in Karnataka of which 72 are operating. In Karnataka, 32 sugar factories are producing Ethanol, he said.

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This doctor has been healing Kalaburagi’s green cover

Nagnath V. Yadgir, an Ayurveda doctor by profession and environmentalist by passion, has created a green cover in Kalaburagi city by planting 18,000 saplings in the last seven years.

Mr. Yadgir said that the first tree he planted in 2015 was in his compound. He brought some 30 saplings from the Forest Department and planted them in different places near his locality.

His team has planted 7,000 saplings at Sharan Sirasagi village on the outskirts of the city and 3,000 plantations on a single patch of barren land at Belur Cross. The team focuses on school compounds, community parks, and even graveyards, Mr. Yadgir added.

The ones most commonly planted are pongame oil (Millettia pinnata), neem, custard apple, bassora tragacanth, gulmohar, samanea saman, melia dubia, mango, banyan, sheesham, drumstick, guava, tamarind, and ashwatha trees. During the lockdown, even the school students joined him. He taught them the process ofmaking a nursery and educated them on the importance of trees.

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Rare Records : Outstanding returns: 2,000 coconuts on one tree in Karwar

Generally 100 to 200 coconuts are seen on a single coconut tree. However, one coconut tree at Hosalkuli of Honnavar taluk has created a record by giving 2,000 to 3,000 coconuts. Many agricultural lovers visit this place, just to see this tree.

This tree is from a rare species which gives an enormous number of coconuts. This unique coconut sapling was planted 12 years ago at Subraya Parameshwara Shetty’s house, a resident of Hamsaramakki in Hosakuli village. Within three years of planting itself, this tree began giving an excellent yield. One bunch holds around 300 to 400 coconuts. Once in every two months, the crops are cut and it is giving good returns to the owner.

The species of the coconut tree is not known yet. The Horticultural department officials have informed that they will inspect and let the owner know. In the meantime, many people have taken the plants that are grown from the coconuts of the said tree. Some have even ordered 500 plants to be made ready.