Telangana starts raising oil palm seed sprouts from Malaysia

ADILABAD: In a first, the authorities concerned have started raising the oil palm seed sprouts imported from Malaysia in a nursery spread over 10 acres at Madamapur area in Talamadugu. According to sources, the State government has entrusted a private company with the responsibility of managing the nursery and ensuring the proper growth of the plants.

Reportedly, these companies will utilise a new technology to raise the oil palm, under the supervision of district horticulture officials. Speaking to Express, Horticulture Department Assistant Director G Srinivas Reddy said that though the State government has entrusted a private firm with the responsibility of managing the nursery, the Horticulture Department officials will constantly monitor the entire process and ensure the safety of all the plants.  Collector Siktha Patnaik too had visited and inspected the nursery recently.

“As against usual practices, the oil palm seed sprouts imported from Malaysia were planted in separate boxes instead of plastic covers. The plants will grow up to five to six feet within three months. They will be shifted to another area afterwards, where the plants will be kept under observation for about eight months,” a few officials told Express. After this period, the plants will be distributed among farmers.

According to sources, about 3,166 acres are likely to be utilised for growing oil palm as part of the first phase. For this purpose, the authorities have started growing as many as 1.90 lakh oil palm sprouts. The officials concerned are hopeful that the farmers will utilise about 6,000 acres for growing oil palm this year. It is learnt that farmers from Chennur constituency in Mancherial  recently visited Khammam district to study the cultivation pattern adopted by them.