Minister awed by record yield of turmeric

Adilabad: Awestruck at the record 250 quintals per acre yield projected, Agriculture Minister Pocharam Srinivas Reddy and Endowments Minister Allola Indrakaran Reddy on Thursday visited farmer Kranti Yadav’s farm in Danora village of Tansi mandal.

The Agriculture Minister had a special word of appreciation for Kranti Yadav for the highest yield in the backward Adilabad district setting a precedent for the whole state. Later talking to newsmen, Pocharam said that the government will take steps to supply Salem variety of turmeric seeds, which has been used by Kranti Yadav, to farmers besides solving their problems.

People from all 10 districts of the state thronged Kranti Yadav’s farm and enquired from him the methods adopted in turmeric cultivation. Nizam Turmeric Farmers’ Association president Ravinder Reddy along with other farmers was surprised at the record harvest and noted that he did not cross 100 quintals per acre yield though he had been cultivating turmeric for the past 20 years.

A woman farmer said Kranti Yadav surpassed the most progressive farmers of Ankapur in the turmeric yield and vowed to raise Salem variety of turmeric in her field. She took to the notice of the minister the problems being faced by turmeric farmers in boiling the turmeric and sought the government to supply relevant equipment on subsidy to farmers.

Not to be disheartened by the failure of the cotton crop in the district, Kranti Yadav cultivated turmeric on his four-acre farm in bed method. He availed advice of former agriculture scientist Kishan Reddy and implemented crop management practices as per his advice. As a result, he achieved a record yield of 250 quintals, the yield many Ankapur farmers would dream of. Farmers and farm scientists made a beeline to Danora village to witness the spectacle. A state-level workshop on turmeric was arranged at Danora.