Hailing from a farm family, Smt. Dildeep Kumari, Thazhchayil, Aryad owns an area of 3 acres of garden land. The major crops grown are coconut, tubers, spices and vegetables. During 2015 April she attended a training programme on scientific turmeric cultivation organized by ICAR –Krishi Vigyan Kendra –Alappuzha in association with the Aryad farmers’ club and Krishi Bhavan. Following this, she was made a partner in the Front Line Demonstration programme of the KVK on ‘Scientific cultivation of IISR–Prathibha variety of turmeric’ implemented at Aryad Sansad Adarsh Gram panchayath. Critical inputs including the seed materials of turmeric variety Prathibha were provided and she cultivated in an area of 5 cents by preparing beds of 1.5 meter width. Before sowing the seeds the soil samples were collected and tested at KVK and based on the soil test results dolomite was applied to the soil as soil amendment. Prathibha seeds of 25 g were sown in the beds in a spacing of 25 x 25 cm and cow dung, bone meal and green leaves were applied as basal manures. She cultivated the turmeric as per the guidance of KVK staff by adopting scientific cultivation practices. The growth and establishment were good and the crop was completely disease free. There was a minor incidence of stem borer and she managed using bio pesticides. The turmeric crop gave her a good yield of 500 kg fresh turmeric from an area of 5 cents. She processed 200 kg fresh turmeric and sold about 40 kg turmeric powder @ Rs.400/kg. About 240 kg of turmeric seeds were provided to the nearby farmers for cultivating in the coming season and the rest she kept for own cultivation. Since the cultivation was mainly through involvement of family members, the cost of cultivation was very much reduced. She opined that the Prathibha variety was very high yielding and the turmeric powder have good flavor, aroma and quality. She obtained a net profit of Rs.6500 from 5 cents by this turmeric cultivation. Now she is planning to extend the area of cultivation and also involved in spreading the technology with support provided by ICAR –KVK –Alappuzha.
