CHES, Chettalli, making horticultural growers prosperous

Abstract

The CHES, Chettalli, in Karnataka nested in the Western Ghats region established by the erstwhile Madras province around 1947 for exploring horticultural potential in the region, undertook different research activities under IIHR from 1972 onwards coffee continued to be the mainstay of sustainable livelihood of the population in the multistoried cropping system under shade of forest trees along with black pepper, cardamom and Coorg mandarin in Kodagu region presenting one of the most efficient and unique land-use options. This system also nurtured mostly non-descript avocado diversity introduced by the British era. Monoculture of any of these crops is virtually non-existent owing to lack of patronage to crops other than coffee through cultural attention and market infrastructure. Majority of the component crops in this system due to suboptimal crop husbandry practices, suffer from severe biotic stresses compounded by deteriorating soil health due to intense soil acidification and lack of its management. Although the station initiated systematic efforts to put in place 'crops in waiting' right from inception; they could not make any impact on the prevailing cropping system due to the shade component and its dynamics required for the performance of coffee. Revival of Coorg mandarin cultivation is possible with the participation of growers. The CHES, Chettalli, over years has successfully demonstrated support culture of a wide array of fruit culture that may include papaya, banana, passion fruit, guava, sapota, macadamia nut, litchi, rambutan, karonda etc., but as monoculture in open sunny conditions evidently conflict of interests prevail. Prospects of fruit crop diversification could brighten up through crops shortlisting, production of quality and disease-free planting materials in large numbers, refinement of production technologies, post-harvest handling, value addition and market integration, says Dr H Ravishankar.