Tulips growing well in AP\'s Chintapalli - first in south India

Visakhapatnam: The Indira Gandhi Memorial Tulip Garden and the Mughal Gardens in Srinagar attract lakhs of tourists every year. The exotic flowers there, one of nature's bounty, represent the world’s largest cultivation of ornamental plants.

The Netherlands is the largest producer of Tulip flowers. In India, grown so far in Jammu and Kashmir and Himachal Pradesh, such gardens are now coming up in Chintapalli village under the ASR district of Andhra Pradesh. These are cited as the first such large-scale cultivation in south India.

Belonging to the Liliaceae family and native to central Asia and Turkey, tulip also ranks first among the bulbous ornamental plants for its brilliant colour and exquisite looks.

Tulips are excellent for cut flowers, beds and pots. They are grown in the open as well as in protected conditions. These are majorly grown in European countries like the Netherlands and Denmark.

For the first time in south India, the crop was tried in December 2021 by the regional agricultural research station (RARS) Chintapalli, under the Acharya NG  Ranga Agricultural University, Guntur,  but it couldn’t get the plants to bear the flowers.

Recently, for the first time, RARS brought five different colours of tulip from Delhi. These had been imported from the Netherlands. These were tested for its commercial cultivation in various modes, like pots and raised beds in shade nets with different dates of sowing. This time, it proved to be a success.

“In all these cases, the plant’s growth is satisfactory. It is blooming well. With this, it is established that the tulips can grow in the high altitude areas of Andhra Pradesh with proper nursing,’’ said RARS scientist Dr M. Suresh Kumar.

"RARS, Chintapalli, is successful in introducing this high-value flower crop. It is hoped to also ensure economic sustainability to the tribal farmers – that is, if we can develop market linkages with the support of ITDA. This can be a game-changer for the tribals in due course of time,’’ Suresh Kumar said.

Suresh Kumar said the flower can be grown widely in the Eastern Ghats by developing poly houses and greenhouses. “This will be the best alternative to ganja cultivation being resorted to by tribal farmers in the agency areas. They can grow tulips from November to February and later switch to other faring activities,” the scientist said.