Kharif onion cultivation profitable

Ambika Sharma

Tribune News Service

Solan, October 29

In a bid to decrease the dependence of Himachal on other states for onion, scientists of Dr YS Parmar University of Horticulture and Forestry, Nauni, are devising a strategy to popularise its cultivation among farmers.

Onion crop is harvested only once in Himachal Pradesh while farmers of Maharashtra harvest the crop thrice a year. This has increased the state’s dependence on other states for meeting its onion requirement and issues such as sudden price rise makes the commodity beyond the reach of common man.

Deepa Sharma, Vegetable Scientist at the University’s College of Horticulture and Forestry, Neri in Hamirpur, has been working on a Rs 20.43 lakh project sanctioned two years ago by the Department of Science and Technology, New Delhi. The project aims at popularising kharif onion cultivation in Chamba district. University scientists Rajveev Raina and Sanjeev Kumar Banyal are associated with the project as co-investigators.

The university scientists are working on an innovative project to raise the cultivation of kharif onion. Besides providing an alternative source of income to farmers, it also saves people from the sting of inflation when its prices skyrocket.

The farmers, however, will be required to adopt its scientific cultivation techniques. As an added advantage, the kharif onion crop will reach the market at a time its prices are rising.

Under the project, 245 demonstrations on farms and 14 training programmes have been organised in the last two years, benefiting 362 farmers.

Keeping in view the growing demand of kharif onion and profits, the university wants to extend its cultivation to all suitable areas of the state.

“The experiments conducted in Chamba have yielded encouraging results. Farmers can replant the crop during the second week of August and sell green onion bulbs from the second week of October. This kharif onion will be harvested at a time when onion prices rise. It will be ready for harvesting from the last week of November to the first week of December. The crop can be sold at Rs 50 per kg from a farmer’s field itself and he can obtain a yield of six quintals and earn up to Rs 30,000. This can help meet the crop requirement of the state,” says Parvinder Kaushal, Vice-Chancellor, Nauni university.

Kaushal exhorts farmers to cultivate kharif onion as an enterprise. He says that scientists associated with the project are making efforts to popularise the commercial cultivation of the crop in the state.

JN Sharma, Director Research, and PC Sharma, Dean College of Horticulture and Forestry, say that stress is being laid on taking the technology to the maximum number of farms in the state.

To be available when prices rise, can be harvested at November end

The experiments conducted in Chamba have yielded encouraging results. Farmers can replant the crop during the second week of August and sell green onion bulbs from the second week of October. This kharif onion will be harvested at a time when onion prices rise. It will be ready for harvesting from the last week of November to the first week of December. The crop can be sold at Rs 50 per kg from a farmer’s field itself and he can obtain a yield of six quintals and earn up to Rs 30,000. This can help meet the crop requirement of the state. Parvinder Kaushal, Vice-chancellor, Dr YS Parmar university of horticulture and gorestry, Nauni

Harvested thrice in Maharashtra

• Onion crop is harvested only once in Himachal Pradesh while farmers of Maharashtra harvest the crop thrice a year. This has increased the state’s dependence on other states for meeting its onion requirement and issues such as sudden price rise makes the commodity beyond the reach of common man
• Besides providing an alternative source of income to farmers, it also saves people from the sting of inflation when its prices skyrocket
• As an added advantage, the kharif onion crop will reach the market at a time its prices are rising
• Under the project, 245 demonstrations on farms and 14 training programmes have been organised in the last two years