Palakkad: Farmers reap a flowery harvest

PALAKKAD: The farmers in the eastern regions in Palakkad have reaped a good profit by changing over from vegetables to the cultivation of the hybrid variety of the orange and yellow marigold during this Onam season.  They say that due to the shortage of water because of the weak monsoon in the district and also because of the warm climate in these areas, the vegetable farms in regions like Walayar, Kanchikode, Elappully, Chitoor, Kozhinjanpara, and Vadakarapathy are ideal for flower cultivation. 

“The hybrid samples are brought from Bangalore and Tamil Nadu which have a high yield. The flowers do not need much water and manure. Besides that, they do not need much care. In an acre, 6,000 to 7,000 flowers can be planted and we are expecting 1.5 kg of flowers from each plant,” said Sudersan of Walayar, He said that during this Onam season he was able to sell 250 kg of marigold for Rs 50 per kg every day.

He said that flowers from his yard were being sold at Palakkad town and Coimbatore. “Several people come to our farms to purchase flowers directly to lay floral carpets at their homes, offices and institutions,” he said. The saplings which are planted when the monsoon begins in June starts flowering during the Onam season and continues giving a yield during the  Navarathri fest, farmers said.