The path leading from the gate to homemaker-turned-floriculturist Raje Rajeshwari’s house in Beeramangala in Sullia, like her life, is unconventional.
Exotic torch ginger plants are lined up to the doorstep, making even tall people look tiny, lily of the valley makes up for the unappealing sight of clumps, and an assortment of ice plants with vibrant red, purple, white flowers arranged neatly in a row outside the house, all fit well into the pathway to become a visual delight for visitors.
And by the side of house, in a wooden crate, are cut stems of the flashy ginger lily waiting to be transported to Bangalore. Red (king), Pink (queen) ginger lily (Alpina Purpuruta) of the family Zingiberaceae, grown in tropical climate, is not just ornamental inflorescence for Rajeshwari but a catalyst in her transformation to a floriculturist from being an agriculturist.
In late the Nineties when Arecanut prices crashed, farmers in the hinterland desperate to offset staggering losses begun dabbling with other horticultural crops like Vanilla with disastrous consequences. While her husband Ramakrishna Bhat ventured into resort development, Raje Rajeshwari stepped into her husband’s shoes to become an agriculturist and oversee their areca cultivation spread over seven acres of land.
Until then Rajeshwari’s interest in ornamental plants was just like any other homemaker’s, Ramakrishna Bhat explains. With a degree in Botany, Rajeshwari boldly strayed away from conventional trends and begun exploring the potential in ornamental blooms as an intercrop. After a series of discussions with florists, Rajeshwari settled for export variety ginger lily and decided to gamble right away.
Eight years ago she begun planting ginger lily in seven acres of Areca plantation, when none in the hinterland had even heard about it. Without expert guidance, the she relied on her instinct and toiled day and night to raise the first ornamental plants. Florists who visited the plantation to watch her progress were impressed with the deep red colour of flashy blooms.
Since then there was no looking back. Every weekend about 300 to 350 cut ginger lilies (vase life over a week) are sold to Bangalore-based buyers. Each bloom cut to a specific height and the stem-end covered with wet cotton fetches a price from Rs 6 to Rs 8. On festive occasions it is relentless work for herself and her six trained hands, as blooms are packed and transported three times a week.
Another ornamental plant, torch ginger imported from Thailand, introduced in her farm was also popular with the buyers. The most expensive bloom on her plantation, Siam Rose (Etlingera cornerii) is now ready for harvest. Today Raji, as known to her exporters, has 1,500 colonies of ginger lily plants, 50 colonies of torch ginger and 20 colonies of Siam Rose plants. Raji takes pride not in her transformation but for successful demonstrating to other areca farmers that ornamental blooms could be a viable intercrop.
— expressharsha@gmail.com