How Onion variety Arka Kalyan increase production by 46 percent ?
This variety does not spoil for many months
Onion is our main source of food and livelihood of farmers. Along with consumption in the country, it is also exported on a large scale. Soil etc. is selected according to the area for onion cultivation. Onion is also grown on a large scale in Karnataka, but the farmers of Tumkur district of the state were troubled by the problem of low yield and pest problem, which was solved in the form of Arka Kalyan, an onion variety. Apart from giving high yield, this variety of onion is also resistant to purple spot disease i.e. farmers can get good income from its cultivation.
Problem of farmers of Tumkur district
Onion is cultivated on a large scale in Karnataka. Red onion is mainly grown here. The state average in onion production is 180 quintals per hectare, but the farmers of Tumkur district of the state are troubled by the low yield of onions. Here, Bellary red variety of onion is grown in about 650 hectares, but its productivity is only 130-140 quintals/ha. Farmers get an average income of 85 thousand to one lakh rupees from the cultivation of this variety. In fact, many factors like most of the rainfed farming, delay in monsoon, not choosing high yielding variety in Kharif season are the reasons for low production. Apart from this, variety of onion also gets spoiled very quickly, due to which farmers have to sell it at throwaway prices.
Benefits of Arka Kalyan
To overcome the problems of the farmers of Tumkur district, in 2004, ICAR-Indian Horticultural Research Institute brought an improved variety of onion Arka Kalyan to the farmers. This variety is best suited for Kharif season. Not only this, this variety is not affected by purple spot disease. Under ICAR-IIHR, Krishi Vigyan Kendra of the district organized many front line demonstrations (FLD) to show the productivity of this variety to the farmers. Arka Kalyan variety of onion was planted in the fields of farmers of Hosakere and Bukkapatna villages of Tumkur district. Along with this, many important information was given to the farmers like nutritional elements of Arka Kalyan, an improved variety of onion, plant protection, adopting integrated crop management in onions.
How much did production increase?
The production of Arka Kalyan variety increased by about 46% as compared to the old variety. Where earlier the old variety produced about 177 quintals per hectare, this production increased to 253.4 quintals per hectare from Arka Kalyan. That is, an additional production of 76 quintals was found. In this way an additional income of 80 thousand rupees was also generated.
The tubers of the onion variety Arka Kalyan are dark pink in colour. Their average weight is 100 to 190 grams. This variety is suitable for cultivation in the plains of northern India, Madhya Pradesh, Bihar, Orissa, Maharashtra, Gujarat, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu.
Also Read: Natural farming reduced the cost and increased profit for this farmer of Andhra Pradesh
Why choose Arka Kalyan better for onion cultivation?
If this technique is adopted for onion cultivation in a total area of 650 hectares, it will result in an estimated 42 percent more production. Additional income of Rs 76,000 thousand per hectare will increase. Another specialty of this variety is that it does not spoil for several months. With this, farmers can store it for a few months when the price falls and when the demand increases, they can make a profit by selling it at a good price.
In order to double their income, farmers have to choose the right type and technology along with the right management in farming, only then they can get success in farming in today’s era. Arka Kalyan has enriched the lives of the farmers of Tumkur district by increasing both their productivity and income.
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