Tissue Culture Technique: How Indrajit Singh Transformed Banana Farming

Tissue culture banana cultivation: Indrajit Singh, a resident of Fatehpur district of Uttar Pradesh, is a progressive and hardworking farmer who decided to adopt a new and advanced technique instead of traditional farming. He made banana cultivation the main part of his agricultural business. The special thing is that he is cultivating G9 banana, which has been developed with tissue culture technique.

The use of this modern technique has improved the quality of his crop, as well as the yield has increased tremendously. Earlier, where production was limited in traditional farming, now with the help of tissue culture technique, they are getting more yield. Not only has this increased his income, but he has also inspired many other farmers in his area to adopt this new technology.

Let us know how Indrajit Singh turned farming into a profitable business with the help of his hard work, new techniques and the right strategies.

Indrajit Singh’s family earlier used to cultivate traditional crops like paddy and wheat, which was their main source of livelihood for years. However, over time he realized that traditional farming requires a lot of hard work but the profit is limited. Income was being affected due to rising costs, climate change and uncertain market price.

During this time, he came to know about Tissue Culture Technique. He learned that with the help of this technique, banana cultivation can be made more profitable, as it accelerates the growth of plants, makes the crop disease-resistant and also gives more yield. After getting a proper understanding of scientific methods, he decided to cultivate G9 banana and adopted it with modern techniques. His move not only proved beneficial for him but also became inspirational for other farmers in the area.

Why Tissue Culture Technique?

Earlier farmers used tubers in banana cultivation in the traditional way, but there was a high risk of disease and infection in it. Under the tissue culture technique, banana plants are prepared in a scientific way, which gives them healthy and uniform growth. The major benefits of this technique are as follows:

Disease resistance – There is very little chance of disease in tissue culture plants.

High quality – All plants are the same, which leads to good production.

Increase in production – This technique gives higher yield than traditional farming.

Fast growing plants – Tissue culture plants grow at a uniform pace and production is also obtained quickly.

Beginning of farming and experience

Indrajit Singh bought G9 banana plants from certified companies in Maharashtra and Gujarat. He observed that the plants prepared using tissue culture technique are stronger and also give more production. Earlier, when he used to cultivate using traditional method, there was unevenness in the plants—some plants would be 5 feet, some 10 feet. But with the use of tissue culture, all the plants were of equal height and quality.

Banana cultivation process

Right time and land preparation

The suitable time for banana cultivation is from the last week of June to mid-July. Before transplanting, the field is plowed deeply and cow dung manure is added. About 20 to 30 tonnes of cow dung manure is applied per hectare. Also, Trichoderma is used to protect the crop from soil-borne diseases.

Plant Distance and Fertilizer

About 1250 to 1300 plants are planted in one acre.

The distance between the plants is kept 5×5 feet or 6×6 feet.

Nitrogen, phosphorus, potash and sulfur are added as fertilizer.

Plant nutrition is taken care of using micronutrients.

Irrigation and Water Management

Banana cultivation requires a lot of water. If irrigation is done in the open, water expenditure increases and there is a possibility of root rot. Therefore, Indrajit Singh adopted drip irrigation technology.

Advantages of drip irrigation:

Water is saved.

There is no waterlogging, which keeps the roots healthy.

There is uniformity in the growth of plants.

Crop production increases.

The cost of drip irrigation is around Rs 1.5 to 2 lakh per acre. Pipelines are laid along the rows of plants, providing drop-by-drop irrigation to the plants. 

Other products and possibilities related to banana

During banana cultivation, most of the stem and leaves used to go waste. But now useful products can be made by extracting fiber from it. Indrajit Singh saw that work is going on in Barabanki and Lucknow. Under a technique, plant growth regulator is prepared by extracting juice from banana stem, which is very useful in organic farming. He has planned to adopt this technique so that farmers can get more benefits.

Future plans and message for farmers

Indrajit Singh aims to take banana cultivation to a higher level and promote banana exports from North India. He has taken dealership himself to ensure the authenticity of banana plants, so that farmers get good quality plants.

He gives the following suggestions to farmers:

Choose the plant of the right company – Buy tissue culture plants only from a certified lab.

Get the soil tested – Get the soil tested before starting cultivation.

Adopt tissue culture technique – This technique provides higher yield and quality.

Use IPM technique – Use less chemicals through organic farming and integrated pest management (IPM).

Adopt drip irrigation – Use drip irrigation to save water and increase crop quality.

Conclusion

Progressive farmers like Indrajit Singh are scaling new heights in farming by using tissue culture technique. His success proves that if the right technology, modern science and hard work are combined, banana cultivation can be turned into a profitable business.

Singh story is an inspiration for all those farmers who are thinking of moving beyond traditional farming and adopting modern methods. His experience shows that if scientific methods are used properly, not only does production increase, but farmers can also become financially empowered. Farming can be made more sustainable and profitable through Tissue Culture Technique, thereby brightening the future of farmers.