PERAMBALUR: A decision to cultivate 'Sulkhaniya Rajasthan' rye has paid rich dividends for a Keelakarai farmer in Vadakkumdevi panchayat. M Duraisamy (54), who grew shallots in most of his five-acre farmland, was struggling with the low prices for shallots and the basal rot disease that kept ruining most of his produce.
With the cost of cattle fodder also increasing, Duraisamy was finding it hard to provide for the four cows he was rearing. It was then that he got to hear of the high-yielding Sulkhaniya Rajasthan rye and began cultivating it on 50 cents at a cost of Rs 2,500. Three months later, he ended up harvesting up to 15 sacks for a half-acre cultivation, enough to keep aside for household needs and cattle fodder.
Speaking to TNIE, Duraisamy said, "The price for shallots is very low every year. There are times when we cannot sell even for Rs 10. So we decided to cultivate Sulkhaniya rye. The age of this rye is only 90 days, and it has higher yield than our local rye varieties. A single stem grows 3 to 5 feet and one stem contains 130 grams of rye. This will give us more yield.
But the local variety yields only 10 sacks per acre. Its growth and yield will be low." "We spend `7000 a month for cattle fodder. We have cut this cost by cultivating Sulkhaniya rye. This will enable the cow to produce more milk and no other problems will arise. I sell this as seed rye to farmers. I also use it for household needs. Next year I will cultivate it on a larger area," he added.
When contacted, an official from Perambalur agriculture department told TNIE, "He is the first to cultivate this variety. He has got good yield at low input cost, so other farmers can also cultivate it."