Trellising keeps the plant upright and prevents the stem from breaking. In the trellis system, the plant leaves and fruits are off the ground which helps to reduce any possible plant diseases that may develop from excess ground moisture.
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| Women farmer plucking tomatoes for the market |
This intervention was carried out in three Villages ( Lukumari, Malibisali and Nandigaon) in Dasamantpur Block, Koraput District, Odisha under ATMA Farm School. All these villages come under Agriculture Production Cluster (APC). CYSD team of Dasamantpur Block facilitated the program.
The seeds were bought from the Indian Institute of Horticulture Research (IIHR, Bangalore). The variety was Arka Rakshak and Arka Samrat. These varieties have yield capacities up to 18kg/plant and can withstand Tomato Leaf Curl Virus (TLCV), Bacterial Blight, and Early Blight. The most important is keeping quality (15-20 days) and hence easy for the long-distance market.
The seeds were distributed to the progressive farmers and were trained how to sow the seeds in the pro-trays. 25 days seedlings were planted maintaining a distance of 4.5 feet from row to row and 2.5 feet from plant to plant. Before planting well decomposed FYM was used and nicely mixed with the soil. Fertilizer was used @ 70:60:70(NPK) kg per acre.
After training, the farmers were able to tie the rope and clips with the plants properly. The real happiness was seen on the face of the farmers when they saw the fruiting of tomatoes. As the days passed and the fruits were ripening, the farmers were ready to pluck the tomatoes on the market day. The farmer of Lukumari sold his produce in the local market (Podagada) and the farmer of Malibisali and Nandigaon sold their produce in the weekly market of Nandigaon GP.
We were able to sell the tomatoes very quickly as the color and size of the tomatoes attracted more consumers in the market said by the farmers.
The farmers were able to sell their produce at the rate of Rs.20-25/kg and they earned about Rs.40, 000/- (Rupees Forty Thousand) from each demonstration by selling all the tomatoes. It was the time when there was pandemic COVID-19 situation and this hard-earned money became the source of livelihood.
This intervention has bought confidence in them and they learned that if they follow the technologies and select the right kind of seed then, they can harvest a lot of fruits and can earn good profit. They were happy with the harvest and willing to continue the same practices in the coming season.
Looking into the success of this variety in Dasamantpur Block, this year 2021, we have again bought seeds of Arka –Rakshak and distributed among the women farmers and waiting to see the results.