Blitz Bureau
NEW DELHI: The Ernakulam Krishi Vigyan Kendra (KVK) of ICAR-Central Marine Fisheries Research Institute (CMFRI) has launched initiatives to revive the lost glory of lemon grass cultivation and distillation in Kerala’s Ernakulam district. The KVK achieved a breakthrough in this direction with the successful testing of a reaper for harvesting the crop, addressing the critical issue of manpower shortage that had hindered the district’s once prosperous lemon grass cultivation.
This was attained in a joint operation with Kerala Agricultural University and Kerala Agro Machinery Corporation Ltd (KAMCO).
Trials conducted at the farm of the University’s Aromatic and Medicinal Plants Research Station in Odakkali found that KAMCO’s KR120H model reaper was suitable for this purpose. It can harvest one acre of lemon grass per hour.
“In the next phase, the KVK plans to demonstrate varieties Sugandhi and Krishna from the KAU and Lucknow-based CSIR-Central Institute of Medicinal and Aromatic Plants (CIMAP) respectively, in farmers’ fields,” said Dr Shinoj Subramanian, Head of Ernakulam KVK.