TIRUPATI: After a year of hard work and an investment of Rs 10 lakh, P Srinidhi Reddy has achieved the feat of cultivating saffron in a closed-room environment at Madnapalle in Annamayya district.
Srinidhi has completed her post-graduation in Soil and Water Conservation from Banaras University in Uttar Pradesh.
Keeping in mind the demand for the spice and that it is grown only in Jammu and Kashmir, Srinidhi took it as a challenge to cultivate saffron using Hydroponics Technology. While working as a business executive at Acharya NG Ranga Agricultural University’s (ANGRAU) Poshan Incubator in SV University, she and her fiancé, Srinath Reddy, began researching on spice. Srinidhi and Srinath were classmates when they were studying graduation.
Later, they purchased three quintals of saffron seeds from Kashmir for Rs 30,000 and began cultivation in August this year and started harvesting it from October 15. The duo sought help from agriculture scientists in Sam Higginbottom University of Agriculture, Technology and Sciences in Uttar Pradesh, Sher-e-Kashmir University of Agricultural Sciences and Technology and SV University.
Srinidhi’s parents, Srikanth Reddy and Pushpa Bhargavi, and relatives, Kalpana and Madhdusudhan Reddy, helped her convert a room at into a cold storage. They arranged 340 trays to sow the seeds and maintained the temperature with thermocol insulation.
‘Next step is to get FSSAI certificate’
Srinidhi is now expecting to harvest 200 to 250 grams of saffron by the end of November. She said, “Each sapling will produce three to four flowers based on the weight of the seed. The main challenge is to replicate the seeds of saffron after the harvesting stage. However, I am confident that we will be able to do it.”
She explained, “Next step will be to get a license from the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) and then start the process of branding.”District Horticulture Officer Ravichandra Babu learnt about Srinidhi’s efforts to cultivate the expensive spice and appreciated her efforts.
THE SPICE IS GROWN ONLY IN J&K AS THE CLIMATE HELPS IN FLOWER OUTPUT
The world’s most expensive spice, saffron is known for its aroma. It is used for flavouring, colouring and in pharma sector. In India, the spice is cultivated only in Jammu and Kashmir as its climate supports good growth and flower production. Iran, India, Spain and Greece are the major cultivators. Total production stood at 300 tonnes per year. With 7% contribution, India is the second largest producer of the spice after Iran