Coimbatore: Genial farmer tries leaf culture to grow plants

Coimbatore: Passionate about agriculture, Dr S. Rajarathnam, a specialist in developing clonal plantlets in species which are difficult to root, is developing new plantations, landscaping and gardening. He has also introduced leaf culture to grow plants. The low-cost method is user-friendly and results are assured through the unique yet effective process. Multiple saplings of the respective plant species can be grown at one go. 

As its name suggests, a new plant of the respective species is grown using the leaf of the original plant, by taking advantage of minimum equipment and space. Having experimenting on leaf culture method from 2011, its creator, Dr. Rajarathnam told DC that the method of growing plants finally passed its trial and error in 2013 from when production started full-fledged at his ‘Eden Nurseary Gardens’ located in Mettupalayam.

Throwing light on the pocket and user friendly method Dr Rajarathnam said, “a shade house, tunnel mist chamber, polythene sheet and water is all that is required. The tunnel mist that is designed and created in-house by us is fitted with pockets which are filled with soil required to grow the sapling.” Each tunnel mist chamber has as many as 3,000 individual pockets which means at one go, thousands of saplings of the respective plant species can be grown.

Taking the example of growing guava saplings, Dr Rajarathnam explains that individual leaves along with the respective petiole (the stalk that joins a leaf to a stem) must be placed in the separate pocket of the tunnel mist chamber. Care must be taken to ensure that the soil has the necessary amount of moisture required for growing the plant. Having placed the respective leaves in the individual pockets of the chamber, the same must be covered air-tight with a polythene sheet. Subsequently, a frame measuring eight-mm is placed on the chamber and must be placed in the shade house.

“Once in every five days the polythene sheet must be removed and the moisture level in each of the pockets must be checked. Depending on the need, the required amount of water must be sprayed in the individual pockets.” In about four to five weeks, roots of the guava sapling begin to show and in the four to five weeks that follow, the sapling begins to grow in height. At this juncture, the polythene sheet must be taken off the chamber and the individual pockets along with the saplings must be moved from the shade house to sunlight, he elaborated. 

“Once we are confident that the sapling is good to grow on its own, the same is handed over to the farmer with the pocket, who in turn, removes the sapling with the roots from the pocket and re-plants it in his respective field,” Dr Rajarathnam said, adding, leaf culture technique needs just Rs one lakh as investment.