Baghel Josan — a known face in plant nursery field

PK Jaiswar

Tribune News Service

Amritsar, March 25

In the field of horticulture and plant nursery, Baghel Singh Josan is not a new name. Located on the NH-I near Jandiala Guru, Josan Nursery is one of the top nurseries in the region.

Initially Josan, who also owns pear gardens, set up a fruit nursery in 1975. But his hobby and love for colourful flowers and ornamental plants took him to the plants nursery business in 1977. His journey has become an inspiration for many. The nursery boasts of huge varieties of beautiful flowers and ornamental plants even from Kerala, Bangalore, Calcutta and Andhra Pradesh. “We also have varieties of gauva and mango from Thailand,” Josan said.

He was a lecturer of economics at Khalsa College here. He left his job for his business. He said, “Full dedication is important if anyone wants to be an expert in any field. Therefore, I did not think twice before leaving the job and opted for the plant nursery business. Though I have the knowledge of horticulture, it is not easy to gain expertise in the field.”

While proudly showing a sapota (Chiku) tree in his nursery, he said it was grown up commercially due to low yield, but they had negated the theory and managed to get good yield from a single tree. Sapota is widely cultivated in Gujarat, West Bangal, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra and Tamil Nadu.

Josan also is known for his good knowledge of the farming community. When asked whether the farmers should go for a vegetable nursery or plant nursery for extra income, his was quick to answer vegetable nursery. “You see, the farmers are not best at marketing their produce and plant nursery requires such skills to create a market for themselves,” he pointed out.