Kanthallur, a village in Idukki known for its cool season vegetable and fruit framing and tourism, has added one more crop to its kitty with the successful trial cultivation of saffron, which has a huge market all over the country.
According to officials, saffron has bloomed for the first time in Kerala. The crop was successfully cultivated on the land of a farmer named B. Ramamurthy at Perumala in the Kanthallur panchayat. The farming was under the guidance of the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) and Krishi Vigyan Kendra (KVK), Idukki.
1.5 mm larger
“Studies have shown that saffron grown in Kashmir can be cultivated in Kerala. Kanthallur’s soil is suitable for saffron cultivation. The flower in Perumala was 1.5 mm larger than that in Kashmir, proving that the cool climate of Kanthallur is favourable for saffron cultivation,” said V. Venketasubramanian, Director, ICAR-Agricultural Technology Application Research Institute, Zone XI, Bengaluru.
Sudhakar Soundarajan, Subject Matter Specialist, KVK Idukki, collected saffron corms from Pampore village in Srinagar. Around 200 kg of tuber was planted in 12 cents and the rest in a polyhouse. The KVK officials provided assistance for the farming.
According to KVK officials, corms can be harvested within 30 to 50 days of planting. Three to five flowers per plant are obtained depending on the size of the tuber. Up to a lakh of tubers can be planted in one acre, from which 2.4 lakh to 2.50 lakh flowers will be obtained, which weighs one and a half kilograms. One kilo of saffron flower costs ₹3 lakh.
Dr. Venketasubramanian inaugurated the harvesting of saffron at Perumala on Tuesday. Mr. Ramamurthy said he had cultivated saffron last year too, but due to the heavy rain, the attempt was unsuccessful. “The trial cultivation of saffron in 25 cents of land yielded over 300 flowers. The crop’s cultivation will be expanded next year,” said Mr. Ramamurthy.
Case with strawberry
Kanthallur panchayat president P.A. Mohandas said that the panchayat provided aid for strawberry cultivation. “The successful attempt with saffron indicates that the village is suitable for the crop too. The Kanthallur grama panchayat will implement a project next year to increase acreage of saffron,” said Mr. Mohandas.
Last month, Kanthallur bagged the Best Rural Tourism Projects category’s gold award from the Government of India. “Saffron cultivation will be another tourist attraction for Kanthallur in future,” said Mr. Mohandas.
