SAMBALPUR: A 46-year-old dragon fruit farmer Putta Murali Krishna of Karnapali village under Dhankauda block in the district was in for a surprise when the chairperson of the Western Odisha Development Council (WODC), Asit Tripathy went visiting his farmland on Friday. Lauding his efforts, Tripathy termed Krishna’s venture as an example for the youths of Sambalpur.
Krishna planted around 10,000 plants on five acres of his land two years back. Earlier this year, the trees started bearing fruits. “I got into farming in 2010, following the death of my father. Though I am an MCA graduate, I had helped my father on farms so that was nothing new to me,” narrates the successful farmer.
However, since he could not earn well from paddy cultivation, he tried his hands at fruit farming and started making a profit.
“It was four years ago that I tasted dragon fruit for the first time in Vizag and brought four plants out of curiosity. But none survived. Later, I brought four more saplings from Telangana and my experiment was successful,” says an excited Krishna. Subsequently, he planted 10,000 saplings and took to dragon fruit cultivation on a large scale two years ago.
“I am selling the fruit at Rs 150 per kg now and expecting a yield of at least 20 tonnes from all the trees this year. I am getting orders from Reliance Fresh and some local people are also coming to buy fruits from me,” Krishna adds with a sense of fulfilment.