Farmer Sangram Pradhan adopted the intercropping model of pineapple cultivation with mango, using advanced techniques
Pineapple Cultivation with mango means double profit
Pineapple plant needs partial shade. In such a situation, cultivating it among mango trees is a good option and this will help the farmers to increase their income. Sangram Pradhan, a resident of Odisha, started the cultivation of pineapple along with mango on the advice of scientists and today he is earning extra income from it.
Farmers can increase their income by intercropping, but for this they need to be aware of which crops will be beneficial for growing as intercrops. As the cultivation of pineapple along with mango is very beneficial and can double the income of the farmers. Sangram Pradhan, a progressive farmer from Boudh district of Odisha, increased his income through intercropping of mango and pineapple. Taking inspiration from him, now other farmers of the area are also adopting this model.
Increased income from cultivation of pineapple with mango as an intercrop
Sangram Pradhan has been cultivating mangoes on his 10 acres of land for many years and from this he gets about 40 tonnes of mangoes. Mango cultivation gives him an income of up to one lakh rupees per acre, but he realized that he could increase his income by growing pineapple as an intercrop.
To get more information about this, he participated in a training program organized at the Central Horticultural Experiment Station, CHES, Bhubaneswar. To know about the intercropping capabilities of Mango and Pineapple. Thereafter, 300-400 grams of good quality Mauritius variety Pineapple Suckers were given to them by CHES (ICAR-IIHR). You must be aware of that there is no seed for the cultivation of pineapple. The crown of the pineapple is planted on the upper part of its fruit, which is also called pineapple sleep or sucker.
Scientific cultivation of pineapple
Sangram Pradhan started the scientific cultivation of pineapple under the advice and guidance of scientists. Since the pineapple plant needs partial shade, it is recommended to plant it between rows of mango trees. About 2500 pineapple suckers were planted in one acre of mango plantation, for which 25 percent of the land was used.
Sangram Pradhan planted pineapple suckers in raised beds, mulched these beds and used drip irrigation. He followed proper nutrient management program for the good growth of plants and adopted all the parameters prescribed by the scientists.
In the month of December, ethephon (100 ppm) was used for flowering and synchronization. He did not spray any insecticide on the pineapple, which yielded a good quality crop. He got about 2.5 tonnes of pineapple crop from one acre.
Income doubled from cultivation of pineapple with mango
He developed a market link with Reliance Fresh for the sale of the crop and sold a pineapple for Rs 40-50. He earned more than one lakh by selling pineapple and in this way his income started increasing. Initially, he earned Rs 280-300 per day/acre from mango plantation, which almost doubled to Rs 580-600 per day/acre when pineapple was grown as an intercrop.
Sangram Pradhan is very happy with the cultivation of pineapple and mango as an intercrop and now his orchard has become a model farm for other mango growers. He is also encouraging other farmers to adopt it. To increase the income, many other farmers in Buddhist district are also adopting mango-pineapple intercropping technique.
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