The Hindu : Karnataka News : Orchids and anthurium yield rich returns

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Friday, Nov 02, 2007
ePaper

Karnataka

Karnataka

Orchids and anthurium yield rich returns

The orchids are in demand for their beautiful colour combinations

AMONG ANGELS: Asha Seshadri in her farm.

Orchids and anthurium grown at a farm in Kannangi in Tirthahalli taluk of Shimoga district are a big commercial success for Asha Seshadri, a progressive cultivator, who has shown keen interest and initiative in floriculture. She has successfully introduced these flowers in a place dominated by traditional cultivation methods. She is being assisted by her husband, K.S. Seshadri, in her unique farm experiments. Nearly 3,000 plants of 40 varieties of orchids and 85,000 plants of 25 anthurium varieties, including heliconia and musa, are grown in a greenhouse spread over a 1.5 acres at Kannangi. The orchids are in high demand in urban areas for their beautiful colour combinations and varied shapes. Pine bark, charcoal, coconut husk, and coco fibre are the growing media for the plants. Phosphate and nitrate are used as fertilizers. The orchid saplings are imported from the Netherlands and the flowering plants are sold by Ms. Seshadri at an average rate of Rs. 500 to Rs. 700 a plant. Ms. Seshadri received the Best Woman Farmer Award in 2002, instituted by a Mumbai-based ASPEE Company, for her efforts in promoting floriculture. She also won the M.H. Mari Gowda Memorial Best Horticulturist Award in 2000. She is a member of the Board of Regents of the University of Agricultural Sciences, Bangalore. Her husband is a progressive farmer who has followed innovative farming methods in growing coconut and vanilla. She introduced anthurium flowers in 1998 in her farm. The flowers of different colours and sizes start flowering after 18 months. These saplings too are supplied by a company in the Netherlands.

Pramod Mellegatti in Shimoga

Printer friendly page
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Karnataka