VIJAYAPURA: Unusually tall sugarcane stalks sway far overhead — around 25ft above — leaving the onlooker awestruck, on the farm of Narayan Salunke and his brother Sidduba, in Golasangi village of Nidagundi taluk. The abnormally tall cane crop is an uncommon sight in these parts.
Having adopted Israeli technology to cultivate the sugarcane crop, the brothers have harvested a whopping 686 tonnes on a 5-acre plantation.
According to the farmers, a normal sugarcane stalk weighs around 2kg, while the cane grown by Salunke weighs 3.5-4kg. While normal cane grows to a length of about 8-10 feet, this variety shoots up to 25 feet.
“Experts suggest various aspects, and based on their advice we cultivated SNK 13374 variety of sugarcane crop. We used drip irrigation method and applied only organic manure which helps us get higher yield,” he said. With news about the unusually tall sugarcane crop reaching other farmers, four persons from Uttar Pradesh recently visited Golasangi to meet the Salunke brothers and find out more about the crop.
“They wanted to know how we cultivated this variety and where we got information about it. The four persons had come from Amroha in UP. I gave them the required information,” said Narayan Salunke.
He said that before cultivating the crop, the brothers took the guidance of agriculture scientists on the suitability of the variety and grow it on his farm.
Narayan said he had even offered to send some experts from his place to educate sugarcane farmers on how to tie the tall crop so the stalks don’t bend, which helps in an easy harvest. The siblings said they are ready to offer information to any farmer who evinces interest in cultivating the sugarcane crop to get higher yield and better earnings. “We want more farmers to adopt new farming technology to earn profit with minimum investment,” he said.