The Hindu : Tamil Nadu News : Farmers rely on plastic bags

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Monday, Feb 25, 2008
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Tamil Nadu

Tamil Nadu

Farmers rely on plastic bags

Karthik Madhavan

Spotless bananas fetch more price than those ripened using dried leaves

Photo: M. Govarthan

Better use: Covering banana with plastic cover keeps the fruit retain good looks, giving farmers a good price. –

GOBICHETTIPALAYAM: It has always been about fair, shiny skin and good looks – be it in humans or fruit. In the latter, notably banana, the case is that unblemished, lustrous skin helps farmers bargain a better price from traders.

To have good-looking bananas, the farmers hitherto wrapped fruit bunches with dried leaves. It did work but not to the desired extent. “The skin continued to have black spots and colour change, especially in red banana, sev-vazhai,” says R. Chenniangiri, a farmer near Bangalapudur.

This gave the traders an upper hand, adds the farmer who has two acres of sev-vazhai and 1.5 acres of kathali. About six months ago, MYRADA-KVK, an NGO working here, approached the farmers with a suggestion to try wrapping the fruit in plastic bags, instead of dried leaves.

“Having borrowed the technology from the Tamil Nadu Agricultural University, we thought it would be helpful to farmers in the Gobichettipalayam-Sathyamangalam region, where banana is cultivated on over 2,000 acres,” says P. Pachaiappan, subject matter specialist, MYRADA-KVK.

The trial began on 10 fields, where plastic covers were tied on 10 per cent of banana trees. As the fruits ripened and were subsequently harvested, there was a stark difference in the skin quality.

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