'Pomegranate is more profitable than orange'

NAGPUR: Vidarbha may be known as the California of India for producing world class quality orange for more than a century, but horticulture experts see pomegranate as another major potential crop for the region. They believe that not only the soil and weather here suit the fruit crop but also it can be much more rewarding for the farmers. But they cautioned that farmers who take this crop need to be extremely vigilant and hard working.

R K Pal, director, National Research Centre on Pomegranate (NRCP), Solapur, told TOI that Vidarbha farmers were averse to the crop due to many misconceptions. Farmers consider it as a water intensive and highly pest susceptible. "But they do not know that it is a crop of arid areas and does not require much water. It is, in fact, a more profitable crop than orange," he said.

Recently, he was in the city for a national citrus meet hosted by the National Research Centre for Citrus (NRCC).

In fact, six to seven years ago, farmers in western Maharashtra too were very apprehensive due the severe attack of 'Teliya', a bacterial disease, which brought NRCP to Solapur in 2005. Pal said that the fruit grows well in shallow or rocky soil if the farmer uses the right disease-free planting material from certified nurseries.

"It is best to grow tissue culture-based material. NRCP has also been producing planting material using the hard wood cutting. If a farmer follows the right practices it is a much hardy crop," said Pal.

His colleague Rajiv Marathe, who is a founder-member of the centre and a principal soil scientist, said there was a time when the regional university, Panjabrao Deshmukh Krishi Vidyapeeth (PDKV), too did not recommend the crop for Vidarbha. But with guidance from NRCP, farmers in Washim and Amravati districts are successfully growing it in about 2,500 acres. "If it requires even less water than ber then how can it be a water intensive crop? I am confident that in near future Vidarbha will become a hub of pomegranate," he said.

Elaborating on the medicinal value of the fruit, Pal said research has shown that the conjugated linolenic acid present in the fruit is a bioactive material. If taken for 15 days regularly, it can help in treating heart patients. But, instead of fresh fruit the seed decoction in lukewarm water of pomegranate works well on painful angina, coronary blocked arteries and cardiac ischemia, he said.

It also has anti-ageing properties and is being used in cosmetics. Soon people will realize that 'a pomegranate a day can keep a cardiologist away', he claimed.

Future plans of NRCP

Certain varieties in pipeline which can be selectively be used for making 'anardana'.

Work on for developing relatively tolerant varieties to bacterial diseases (but not completely resistant).

Standardizing the technology for use of hard wood cutting as the root stock for the plants.

Process for ready to serve or packed juice is on.

Centre working for developing diagnostic tools for easy identification of nutrient deficiencies.

Work on for scientific water management.

Source: http://tinyurl.com/mm7j5wt