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OnamGreetings

Farmer’s day Celebrations

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Farmer’s day

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My warm felicitions andheartiest Onam Greetings.May the festival ushers in

peace, prosperity andhappiness to all farmers,

students and to all wholove farming as a

profession, culture andlivelihood.

K.P. MohananMinister for Agriculture

Stationary & Printing

Government of Kerala

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KERALA KARSHAKANINSIDESeptember 2013 Volume-1 Issue-4KERALA KARSHAKAN

e journal

Chief EditorK. Sivanandan

EditorSuresh Kumar S.

Asst. EditorAnitha C.S.

Design & LayoutDeepak Mouthatil

Mail: editorkkfib@gmail.comPhone: 0471-2314358

Log on to http://www.fibkerala.gov.in

Articles/ Features appearing in this e-journal are either commissioned or assigned.Neverthless, other articles of farm relevance are also welcome.A maximum of 750 wordage is appreciated. Such items should be addressed toThe Editor, Kerala Karshakan e-journal, Farm Information Bureau, Kowdiar PO,Thiruvananthapuram, Pin: 695001These may also be mailed to editorkkfib@gmail.com in word format.

The First English farm e-journal from Kerala

VIEWS expressed in the articles published in KeralaKarshakan e-journal are not, necessarily those of the Government.

Cove

r Sto

ry

8 OnamAn egalitarian dreamProf. (Dr.)A.K.Nambiar

12 Thrilling breeze flowsEzhumavil Raveendranath

16 ONAM The Festival Of Diversity And EqualityPriya T.K.

20 PradhamansIndu Narayan

22 Onam HarvestK.A. Beena

26 Farmers award distribution

31 Agricultural Policy- Policies related to land

35 Punarpulia promising fruit for fighting obesityShareefa M., and Remya PV*

38 Bitterless Gourds for Widening Kerala’s Vegetable BasketJoseph John K, L K Bharathi

41 NBPGR- the custodian of plant genetic resourcesDr. Sherry Rachel Jacob

44 Scope of Jackfruit Brining Industry in KeralaShree Padre

FarmersDay

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FARM INFORMATION BUREAUADVISORY COMMITTEE MEMBERS

ChairmanSubrata Biswas IASAgricultural Production Commissioner

K.R. Jyothilal IASSecretary (Agri)

R. AjithKumarDirector (Agri)

Mini AntonyDirector (I&PRD)

Dr. K.G. SumaDirector (AH)

K.T. SarojiniDirector (Dairy)

R. Vimalasenan Nair (i/c)Station DirectorAll India Radio

P.K. SubhashDirector, Doordarshan, Thiruvananthapuram

C. RadhakrishnanChamravattom, Tirur, Malappuram

Prof. Abraham P. MathewMarthoma College, Chungathara PO,Malappuram

M. RamachandranLakshmivaram, Sankaran Para Lane,Mudavanmukal,Poojappura, Thiruvananthapuram

A. YetheendranMadhathil House, Vendai, Pinarayi,Thalassery

Ramesh Babu K.P.Mavilari, Chendayadu, Panoor, Kannur

K.P. NairRagam, YGRA Kavuroad, Kowdiar PO,Thiruvananthapuram

Adv. BeenaKarthika Bhavan, Palottuvila, Malayinkeezhu,Thiruvananthapuram

Salim MadavoorKanivu, Madavoor PO, Narikkuni Via,Kozhikode

K.P. Janardhanan NairMuthedam, Kurippuzha PO, Perinadu, Kollam

ConvenorK. SivanandanPrincipal Information Officer

From the Editors’ Desk

Mesmerizingharvest season

Onam, the vibrant and colourful harvest festivalis once again knocking our doorsteps; it is thestate festival of Kerala. Today Onam is not just

the festival of Keralites, but also acquired a nationalstatus. It is even celebrated across the seas with fervour.The festival is characterized by feasting, boat racing,singing, dancing and so on. Even after centuries thefestivities remain rooted in the minds of malayalisTraditionally Onam comes when the state’s granariesare full and fruits and vegetables become ready to beharvested providing plentiful food for people. Whateverbe the fables and legends behind the celebrations ofOnam, all people exchange the message of oneness atthis festive times. This is also one of the best ways tounite keeping apart all difference. Through this let usreach the new shores of wonderful ‘Onappookkalams’harvest festivals full of fun and joviality, colourful andvibrant.

Editor

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Farm Photography contest

Essay writing competition

Kerala Karshakan magazine is conducting a State-level farmphotography competition. Pictures that depict the richness of theagricultural sector of the State in the areas of agriculture, animalhusbandry or dairy development would be considered for thecompetition. The entries in colour (12x16’’) should be sent to thePrincipal Information Officer, Farm Information Bureau (FIB), KowdiarP.O., Thiruvananthapuram-3, so as to reach by October 30. The FIBwill have the right of the selected photographs and it would bepublished in the publications of the department, including ‘KeralaKarshakan’. One can send 3 entries.The entries should not have beenpublished previously or sent for any other competition. Cash awardsof Rs. 10,000, Rs. 7,500 and Rs. 5,000 would be given to the first,second and third prize winners respectively. More details can behad from FIB on all working days directly or over telephone. Phonenumber 0471 2314358

Postal addressPrincipal Information OfficerFarm Information BureauKowdiar p.oTrivandrum-3

Farm Information Bureau conducts a State level essay competition for school students. Studentsfrom 5th to 12th standard can participate in this. The topic is “ Paristhithi samrakshanathintekrishipaadangal”. The essay in malayalam should not exceed 5 pages. Duly certified by school authorities,the essays should reach Farm Information Bureau by October 31st. Cash awards of Rs. 5,000, Rs. 3,000and Rs. 2,000 would be given to the first, second and third prize winners respectively. More details canbe had from FIB on all working days directly or over telephone. Phone number 0471 2314358

Postal addressEditor Kerala KarshakanFarm Information BureauKowdiar p.oTrivandrum-3

NewsDesk

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Mobile Agro ClinicsDepartment of Agriculture

Field visits are inevitable for the technology support, by the Assistant Directors of Agricultureand other technical staffs in each block, for which mobility is a must. In this perspective Agro ServiceCentres are designed to incorporate Mobile Agri Clinics for supporting the service delivery of thedepartment with the following objectives. An amount of Rs.67.5 lakhs is allotted for the scheme.

For achieving the aboveobjectives, 75 nos. of Mobile Agro clinicswere established and 75 Bolero Jeepspurchased and is being utilized asMobile Agri Clinics. This scheme is beingimplemented to encourage regular fieldvisit and technology transfer.

· Monitor the pest and disease incidence, diagnosis and suggestion for remedial measures.· Finding out deficiency symptoms, micro nutrients status, soil nutrient status, soil pH etc.· To enable service delivery at door steps.· To build the capacity of the youth in the professional management of agricultural related services.· To improve the farm clinical services by providing mobility support equipped with facilities for

soil problem diagnosis, pest and disease management etc.

NewsDeskScheme

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State Level Farmer’s day Celebrations &Agricultural award distribution2013 August 16, 17, 18Nagambadam Maidanam, Kottayam

Presided by Shri. K.P. Mohanan, Minister for Agriculture

Shri. K.M. Mani, Minister for Revenue inagurated the function.

Priority Schemes for farmers protection & Security: Sri. K.P. Mohanan

Give recognition to Agriculture like industry: Sri. K.M. Mani

Finance Minister Sri. K.M. Mani urged the need for giving equal or more recognition to agriculturelike industry. Inaugurating the state level Farmers Day celebration and Agriculture Awards distributionat Nagambadam maidanam, Kottayam on August 16th, the finance minister also declared the officiallaunching of Neera Scheme. Agricultural Minister Sri. K.P. Mohanan while inaugurating the functionstressed that priority scheme for ensuring farmers protection and security will be implemented inAgricultural Sector. Home Minister Sri. Thiruvanchoor Radhakrishnan, Minister for public works Sri. V.K.Ibrahim Kunju, Sri. Mohanan Joseph MLA, Dr. N. Jayaraj MLA, District Panchayat President Smt. NirmalaJimmy, Agricultural Secretary Sri. Jyothilal IAS, Agricultural Director Sri. R. Ajithkumar, AnimalhusbandryDirector Dr. K.G. Suma attended the function.

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Prof. (Dr.)A.K.NambiarProfessor & Director (Rtd)School of Drama & Fine ArtsCalicut University

OnamAn egalitarian dreamOnam is a fertility ritual of Kerala. Most of the rituals in Kerala are

very much related to nature fertility or human fertility. Onambelongs to the second category. This is an egalitarian dream of

the people. The myth, songs and other performing arts related to Onamsubstantiate this.

It is difficult to trace out the exact period of Onam festival. Thereare some references on onam in the Sangham literature. Maduraikanchi(Mankudi Maruthanar) and Haryakshamasa samarolsavam (CheppukattNeelakantan) exemplify this. We can see some references in Palland andPathikangal of Periyazhvar on Onam. We are getting more historicalevidences from the temple documents of Kerala. Sri Padmanabhaswamitemple and Thiruvalla temple are some among them. These evidencesprove that Onam festival has the tradition of more than 1000 years.

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Onam is afertility

ritual ofKerala. This

is anegalitarian

dream of thepeople. Themyth, songs

and otherperformingarts related

to Onamsubstantiate

this.

Cover Story

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Onam is celebrated in Tirupathy temple longbefore. In Thamizhakam, Onam was an importantfestival. The people of Gudalur and Ooty of Nilgirisare also having Onam festival. Onam is widelycelebrated in Tulu region by Brahmins (Haveekarand Sheevalli) and other castes like Bandees,Billavas and Cheriyakkars. Temples like UduppiSreekrishna, Kollur Mookambika, and Gokarnamalso are celebrating Onam.

The notable items of Onam in general arePoovidal, Onassadya(feast), Onappudava ( servingnew cloths to the members of thefamily) and involving in culturalactivities . It varies in certainplaces. For example, the ritualof placing the idol ofThrikkakkara Appan and itsadoration are essential partof Onam festival inErnakulam District. Insouthern parts of Kerala,Pazham nurukku (ripebanana is cut into slicesand boiled with ghee andmolasses to eat with

Dosa as breakfast).When the feudal system wasprevailing in Kerala, the tenants were supposed tosupply things like banana, pumpkin and othervegetables to the landlords. They were rewardedwith Onappudava and dhakshina(money) by thelandlords. In North Malabar Onam is a secularfestival. Fish is an essential part of Onasadya asfar as most of the people of North Malabar areconcerned. Nowadays chicken became the mainattraction of the Onam feast.

There will be various entertainments andperforming arts after the Onassadya.

A number of folk performing artswere staged during Onam season.Recreational games also were

performed on this occasion.Onatthallu is a martial art as

well as combat conductedbetween two groups. Thevenue will be polishedwith the paste of cowdung. The contestants

are standing face toface. The leaders of the

group beat his opponent

There are somereferences on onam in

the Sanghamliterature.

Maduraikanchi(Mankudi Maruthanar)and Haryakshamasa

samarolsavam(CheppukattNeelakantan)exemplify this.

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with hands,sitting up onthe shouldersof theirr e s p e c t i v ef e l l o w m e n .There will be amediator calledChazhikkaran to controlthe combat. His duty is tosee that the combat is goingon without foul. The participantsare supposed to beat the opponent onlywith stretched hands. They are notsupposed to beat with flinched fist.Moreover, one person from each side mustbe approximately in the same age andphysique. The duration of the match willbe about four to five hours per day and itmay last for four to five days.Kunnamkulam( Thrissur) and Alathur(Palakkad) are the places whereOnatthallu was prevalent.

Onakkummi/kaikottikkali is afemale dance form exclusively performed

by women duringOnam seasonwhich is very muchsimilar tothiruvathirakkali.

Kolattam , a stickdance of women using

sticks on their hands, isalso a circular dance.

Pulikkali is a male danceform of Thrissur district

performed in connection withOnam. The human bodies are painted

completely to establish the illusion thatthey are tigers. This may be an extensionof the tribal dances like narikkali,karadikali etc. Many tigers dance together

Kunnamkulam(Thrissur) and

Alathur( Palakkad)are the places

where Onatthalluwas prevalent.

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according to the furious speedyrhythms of drumming. Kummatti isa secular dance form of Thrissur,Palakkad and Waynad districtsperformed during Onam days.Thalla(grandma), Krishna, Siva,Kirathan, Darika, Narada,Jambavan etc are theimportant characters whowear beautiful woodenmasks. The costumes aremade of a typical grass namedKummattippullu. The performersvisit the houses and dance in thebackground of the rhythm ofOnavillu(bows). The musicians sing and thecharacters dance. Popular songs are sung to praiseKummatti.

Vallamkali(boat race) is another spectacularevent performed during Onam festival. Theimportant venues of the race are the districts ofAlappuzha and Pathanamthitta. Punnamadakkayal,Champakkulam, Payippattu, Aranmula etc are someof the major places of Vallamkali. There aredifferent types of boats like kalivallam,chundanvallam, veppuvallam, odi, churulan etc.

In North Malabar, there is a ritual namedOnatthar which is performed on Uthradam andThiruvonam days. A boy disguised into Maveli withcolourful facial make-up, small crown, chilambu andbangles. The dancer clings the bell when he dancesin the courtyard of the houses. During the dance,the chief drummer along with his fellowmen singsa song in praise of Lord Mahabali. The song depicts

the reminiscences of the goldenreign of Mahabali. The belief is thatthe people are blessed with the

advent of Mahabali. TheOnappottan/Oneswaran isthe regional version ofOnatthar in Kozhikodedistrict.

T h u m b i t h u l l a l ,O n a k k u m m i ,

kattachendukali, thalama( t h a l a p p a n t h u k a l i ) ,

kothamkallukali, oonjalalattam,kolkkali, ammanattam, karadikali,

karakali, villukottu, aattakkalam,monthayum thalavum and onappattukal are

some of the folk performing arts andentertainments prevalent in Kerala during Onamfestival.

In olden days there was an unwritten codeof conduct on North Malabar. If the husband of anyfamily was absent during the important festivaldays like Onam, Vishu, Pooram/Thiruvathira(springfestival), they were not permitted to enter the housethereafter. One of the versions of Mathileri kanni,a Vadakkan Pattu, testifies this practice.Eventhough Onam festival is preserved; thetraditional value and glamour are not existing.However, it is still practiced as a binding factor ofthe people of Kerala and also a symbol of equalityand prosperity.

TheOnappottan/Oneswaran isthe regionalversion of

Onatthar inKozhikode

district.

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Tribulations are over. Fearful memoirs of stormy and torrentialshowers began to fade. Nature wipes off all the wrinkles andgently spreads her marvelous emerald carpet

with multicolor feathery fringes. Thrillingbreeze flows around each and every greensand murmuring “time has come to dress upwell and lit the lamp in your heart”.. Chirpingornis slowly stretches their wings to send off thelast livid clouds from the bluish sky. Yes, yetanother Onam getting ready behind thefragrant curtains. Hillocks and hamlets aresprung up with a neoteric vim.All the heaps are enthroned with floralcrowns and ruling rods.

Thrillingbreezeflows

Rident androundure floral

beds ,commonly

known as “onapookkalam”are the signets of

the season. Notonly gigantic

mansions but petty huts wereonce competing

one another tomake

pookkalammore attractive.

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Ezhumavil RaveendranathDirector, Coped

Cover Story

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All are rejuvenating themselves to make onam morecolorful and memorable. Really it is a festival of the rural

farmfolk who know the vibrant fragrance of the soil. After thesatanic departure of the riff-raff monsoon, they commencethe detersion activities to recieve the Simham ( Chingam-the first month of malayalam era). It was practice ofdecorating the gateways of petty but precious villages withfestoons and cotton flags. Once each and every villagehad its own unpolished gateways to keep their identityintact. Just before the entrance there was a long and robustflagpost. At the very first day of Chingam ther was a virtual practice ofgeolatry flag hoisting. The rolicking flag was the symbol of unity,fraternity, equality and honesty for which the erstwhile Mahabalisacrificed his power, palace and phylon.

In geolatry, Navadhanya ( nine types of foodgrains ) were sown in a piece of land with hymnsand pomp. They are the seeds of paddy, wheat,millet, raggi, barley, sesame, gram, horsegramand greengram. This was called Navadhanya

Samarpana. (offering of nine grains to Goddess earth).It was commonly believed the” the samarpana “would

bring prosperity to the land. Rident and roundure floral beds , commonly known as

“Onapookkalam” are the signets of the season. Not only giganticmansions but petty huts were once competing one another to makepookkalam more attractive. This was not aimed to get any rewardsbut to honor the regality

Pookkalam is a colorful link between benevolent nature andgrateful human being.No such arrangements cant be seen in any other

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because the sunday is the day of the LordSoorya and its color is burning red.Similarly, monday is the day day of themoon and its color is milky white.following are the color pattern of floralarrangement

Sunday- burning redMonday- milky whiteTuesday- redWednesday- greenThursday- yellowFriday-saffronSaturday-blueThe color of

Wednesday is depictedasgreen. There may be adoubt whether green flower isavailable. Answer is simple. Theholygrass named Karuka(Bermuda grass-Cynodon dactylon) is enlisted in the rangeof flowers. It is also included in the list of

well known Dasapushpa (the tendivine flowers). The thulsi(Ocimum tenniflorum) is alsoconsiderd as green flower.

The base of thepookkalam is moulded withthe gummy soil of white anthill (termitarium) andcowdung. It has a convex

shape with bunny centre.

festivals. From the Atham (the first daywhen the official launching of onamceremony taken place) to Thiruvonam , therural folk , especially child corps are busy.In the divine lux, it can be seen that theyare searching here and there to collect bothnatural and nurtured flowers

Without pookkalam Keralites cantthink about Onam. There are certain rulesand regulations observed inerecting florids. It is assumedthat certain astrological factsare behind the erection. Thecolor of the dominatingflower depends upon theday when the athamcomes.For eg, if it falls onsunday , the main flowermust be hard red in color. It is

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A coconut shell with water is hiddenat the middle. Then an ideal lotusflower with long stem is placed at thetop of the hidden shell. The stem mustbe immersed in the water so that theflower can be kept afresh for the comingdays. This trick is practiced to overcomethe scarcity of lotus.

During onam season all flowers are givenequal importance.Flowers are classified into four,ie. home flowers. farm flowers, street flowers andwild flowers.Home flowers are nurtured flowers.Rose, jasmine, grandflora, chrysanthemum, coralflowers, hibiscus, holybasil, red corella, sunflowernerium are some examples. The flowers ofmelons, berries, cucumbers, elephant foot,plantain etc are treated as farm flowersChampak, asoka, pomegranate etc are underwild flowers.

The pookkalam has nine faces, Thefirst face is sooryamukha( face of the sun)where the lotus flower is placed. Lotus isdepicted asthe ladylove of the sun. It is believedthat the hot of the midday sun can be alleviatedthrough the placement of the lotus. The otherfaces are Indramukha, Agnimukha, Yamamukha,

Nairuthamukha, Varunamukha,Vayumukha, Kuberamukha andEesaanamukha. Indra is at theeast, Varuna is at the west, yamanis at the south and kubera is at the

north. The blessings of theseprotectors are believed tobe

inevitable for the wellbeing of theland.

The new generation ispreparing pookkalam in offices,public grounds and auditoriumswith polythene flowers witheredflowers brought from the neighbouring

states.But they are not aware ofanything about our rich andcolurful tradition.. As perthe sketch and guidelinesof the designers they aredoing something. It ismere mockery and

puppetry. May our belovedmaveli forgive them.

During onam season all flowersare given equal importance. Flowersare classif ied into four, ie. homeflowers. farm flowers, street flowersand wild flowers.

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Priya T.K.Junior Librarian,Kannur University Central Library,Kannur -670002Phone: 9446668080

Kerala, the land of festivals, attracts the entire world with itscolourful and rich cultural diversity. Each festival celebrated inKerala has its own role in building the cultural heritage of the

country. Onam is the most spectacular festival of Malayalees who liveall over the world. Even in the present context of small or nuclearfamilies, Onam is still celebrated, preserving its warmth and divinity.

ONAMOnam, withits rich

traditionaland

ritualisticform creates

a spectacle oftruth, beliefsand unity. It

extends theoptimism forequality and

socialharmony

everywhere.

TheFestival Of

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Onam, with its rich traditional and ritualisticform creates a spectacle of truth, beliefs and unity.It extends the optimism for equality and socialharmony everywhere. It is deep-rooted in the lifeof each and every Malayali and it is an ever-cherished dream for good future. Malayalees,wherever they live, find time to celebrate Onam torejoice with friends and relatives.

Onam is also an occasion to celebrate thepre- harvest season of Kerala. It marks the end ofKarkidakam and welcomes the golden days ofChingam , the month of prosperity. After the heavyrainfall, the nature becomes green and beautifulwith blossoms during the Onam season.

There is a saying, “Atham pathonam”, whichmeans that Onam festival starts on Atham and endswith Thiruvonam. Onam is the festival of flowers.On all the ten days of Onam , children make

beautiful flower carpets called Pookkalam withdifferent varieties of flowers on the courtyard andalso inside the houses. Thumbappovu,Mukkuttippoovu, kakkappovu, arippoovu etc aresome of the important flowers used for pookkalam.In earlier days, the pursuit for flowers with friends,in and around the village with pookkooda (corbeille)

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Onam is also an occasion tocelebrate the pre- harvest seasonof Kerala. It marks the end ofKarkidakam and welcomes thegolden days of Chingam , themonth of prosperity.

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and poovili (call for flowers) is amemorable experience of the childhood.Pookkalams are made in different shapesand forms to mark the never endingbeauty of Kerala culture.

Another important feature ofOnam is the Onasadya, which is thespecial feast served on Thiruvonam. It isa true example of traditional Kerala foodwith all kinds of vegetarian curries andalso payasams. The items served inOnassadya also have local variations.Nowadays, non-vegetarian items are alsoincluded in Onassadya in North Kerala.Almost all the vegetables available in

Kerala are used for the preparation ofOnassadya. Each day of Onam has its owndelicious food.

Onassadya includes sambar,kootukari, aviyal, olan, kaalan, thoran,rasam, moru, pachadi, kichadi, differentvarieties of pickles etc. Sometimes fishand meat are also included. One of thechief attractions of ‘Onassadya” is‘varuthupperi’ and ‘sarkkarayupperi’ whichare made of raw banana. The feast istraditionally served in plantain leaves,where each dish has its own position. Thesadya is complete only when differentvarieties of payasams are served alongwith pazham and pappadam. Themultifarious onassadya is a hauntingexperience for Malayalees.

Onakkodi is an inevitable part ofthiruvonam. The head of the family willsupply new clothes to all the members ofthe family. The small children are given‘chittada’, a small yellow cloth as onakkodi.Onam is the time for various performingart forms. Onathallu, vallamkali,villadichupattu, thalappanthukali,thumbithullal, oonjalattam etc are themajor events practiced in Onam session.

Onam is observed in differentparts of Kerala in different ways. It isreflected in the rituals and also in thefeasts, according to the custom andtradition of people of Kerala. In thesouthern parts of Kerala, Onam iscelebrated with the offerings given toThrikkakkarayappan, who is Lord Vishnu.But in North Kerala, it is more or less asecular festival.

We have the popular myth ofMahabali, the famous King of Kerala, whowas stamped down to Patala by LordVishnu. It is believed that Mahabalicomes to visit his people on the day ofthiruvonam every year and he is welcomedby the people with Pookkalam. Althoughit has a mythical relevance, it also has thehistorical evidence of centuries.

Onam festival is an attractiveevent and therefore hundreds of touristscome to Kerala from other parts of India

Onakkodi is an inevitablepart of thiruvonam. The headof the family will supply newclothes to all the members ofthe family. The small childrenare given ‘chittada’, a smallyellow cloth as onakkodi.Onam is the time for variousperforming art forms.

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and abroad during this season. The majorattractions for tourists during the festival arevarious art forms like martial arts and folk games.The tourists are interested in the attitude andconcern of the Malayalees towards the historicalfestivals and traditions of the state.

As the fields and bushes have given way tobuildings and skyscrapers the availability of localflowers has reduced. Nowadays, all the flowersused for making pookkalam are brought from otherstates like Tamil Nadu, Karnataka and AndhraPradesh. Even the vegetables are to be broughtfrom other states. It is a great disgrace to us thatwe cannot be self-reliant to celebrate our ownfestivals. Let us hope that Onam may bring in themessage of self reliance which may eventuallybring self assurance in the minds of all Malayalees.

Onam, a blend of myth and reality is themost popular festival of Kerala, which takes us backto our nostalgic past into the era of prosperity andequality described in the folk song as ”Maveli naduvaneedum kaalam, manusharellarumonnupole…”.

Whatever may be the myths behind Onamor its historical backgrounds, the enthusiasm andthe attitude expressed in the celebration of Onamis always the same for all Malayalees. May thespirit and essence of this festival be maintainedand preserved forever.

Onakkodi is an inevitablepart of thiruvonam. The headof the family will supply newclothes to all the members ofthe family. The small childrenare given ‘chittada’, a smallyellow cloth as onakkodi.

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PRADHAMANSWHEAT PRADHAMAN

1 cup dalia (broken wheat)4 cups jaggery, grated1 No. coconut, grated1 tbsp each of kishmis and nuts1/2 cup sago, cooked4 No. dates, chopped. 4 cardamoms, powderedPrepare the first, second and the third milk from the grated

coconut. Cook sago and dalia in enough water. Prepare jaggery syrupand pour the third coconut milk and allow it to boil. Pour the first milk fora while. Add the second milk and when it thickens a little pour the firstmilk and off the gas. Fry nuts and kishmis in ghee. Garnish the payasamwith the fried items and chopped dates. Sprinkle cardamom powder andserve hot.

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Indu NarayanFreelance Writer

Pradhamansoccupy apremier

position inthe menu of

Onasadya.

Try newdelicious

recipes ofpradhamanthis Onam.

Oman Cusine

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RICE PRADHAMANIngredients: 200 gm red rice (unakkalari)2 1/2 tbsp kishmis2 1/2 tbsp nuts1 kg jaggery, grated1 Litre coconut milk, first extract50 gm sugar candy1/4 cup sago, cooked4 No.s cardamoms, powderedMethod: Heat 1 tbsp ghee in a big flat

pan, add kishmis and fry till puff up. Remove frompan, drain and set aside. Add cashewnuts andfry till golden brown. remove from pan and setaside. Reserve ghee.

Wash rice, drain, place in a pan with 21/2 cuup water and cook till half done. Add the prepared jaggery syrup and remaining ghee. Frystirring constantly. Add the cooked sago and stirwhen it is dry add the coconut milk, sugar candy and fried cashewnuts and kishmis. Pour thebalance ghee and cook till payasam thickens. Offthe gas and sprinkle the payasam with cardamompowder.

KAPPAPPAZHAM-RAVAPRADHAMAN

3 kappappazham(red banana)one cup semolina (sooji rava)2 tsp ghee250 gm jaggery2 tsp maida4 cups coconut milk(first extract)2 cups milk (pre boiled)4 cardamoms, powderedPeel the banana and cut into 1 cm

cubes. Place semolina in a pan with 1 1/2cups water and cook for 5 minutes till done. Prepare jaggery syrup. Add ghee, jaggerysyrup and 1.5 cups water and bring to boil. Mix the flour with 1 tbsp water. To this addpayasam and bring to a boil again. Addcoconut milk and milk, bring to a boil oncemore, and boil for 2 minutes. Stir incardamom powder and remove from heat. Serve hot.

SEMIA PRADHAMAN

1/2 packet fried semia1/2 kilo jaggery, grated1 big coconut, grated1 cup milk25 gms each of kishmis and nuts1 tsp cardamom powder2 tbsp ghee1/4 cup sago, cooked1 tbsp coconut pieces.Cook fried semia in milk. Cook soaked

sago in water. Prepare the first, second and thethird milk from the grated coconut.

Fry kishmis, nuts and coconut pieces inghee and keep it aside.

Prepare jaggery syrup and to this addcooked semia and sago. Pour the third coconutmilk to this and allow it to thicken a little. Pourthe second milk. And when it thickens a little,pour the first milk and off the gas. Garnish withthe fried kishmis, nuts and coconut pieces. Sprinkle with cardamom powder.

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Nikhil couldn’t wink his eyes on the previous night ofUthradam. He was eagerly waiting for the daybreak. Evenminutes seemed to drag by. As soon as the sun rose he

jumped out of his bed and woke up his grandfather.“Happy Onam Grandpa, get up and have a bath. A surprise

is awaiting us. We have to go to a place.”“Just go and sleep kid. Let the dawn arrive. Today, I am in

no mood to go anywhere.” Nikhil was now upset. He wanted topick up a fight with his grandpa. Fearing that his father mightscold him, he remained silent and went and lied down on his bed.

Everything began with the Onam vacation. It was mumwho decided to bring grandpa from his place to the flat duringNikhil’s holidays and celebrate this year’s Onam here. As usualdaddy agreed. He drove 32 kilometers to and fro and broughtgrand pa. Nikhil danced with joy. Grandpa was his favorite. Theplaces his grandpa takes him to and the things he buys for himwhenever he visited his parental home were Nikhil’s secret. Manytimes he had told his father that his grandpa was a smart guy.

Grandpa used to enjoy fishing in the river, sitting on thebank. There are fishes in the pond too. Grandpa would keep ahook ready for Nikhil. How much time they used to spend togetheron fishing! Sitting still holding the fishing hook was not an easyjob for him in the beginning.

Another thing grandpa loved was wandering through aplantain grove enjoying the beauty of banana bunches. It is an

Grandpaused to

enjoyfishing inthe river,sitting onthe bank.There are

fishes in thepond too.Grandpa

would keepa hook

ready forNikhil.

K.A. BeenaWriter and Journalist

OnamHarvest

September2013

22e-journalKERALA KARSHAKAN Story Time

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honor to be a farmer was what grandpa hadconvinced Nikhil. He also had a vegetable garden.Eating the crisp tender cucumbers from thosegardens was something grandpa taught him. Nikhilused to laugh a lot hearing him conversing withthe cows in the shed. He used to boast thatSubhadra (that was his cow’s name) couldunderstand everything. The way Subhadra shookher head and blinked her eyes justified his words.

Climbing the Kurathi hill was another hobby.Nikhil and his grandpa would shout standing on topof the hill. The hill on the other side will send theecho. Formerly Nikhil believed his grandpa whenhe said that another boy and his grandpa werestanding on the opposite hill. Later it was his fatherwho taught him about an echo. Nikhil had no doubtthat his grandpa was a mischievous fellow.

Grandpa and grandma made floral designs,built a swing, prepared a feast and brought newclothes making Nikhil’s onam splendid. Grandmapassed away last year. After that, papa was neverinterested in visiting his native place. That may bethe reason why grandpa was brought here, to thisflat.

This is the first time grandpa is celebratingonam in a city. He was used to the ways of thevillage. Papa and Mama several times spoke abouttheir doubt that the city and the flat might beinconvenient to grandpa. Hearing this Nikhil wasalso worried about him.

Thoughts about the various ways to makegrandpa comfortable left him sleepless. Nikhilplanned several things like visiting the zoo andmuseum, going to the temple and even going for a

Climbing the Kurathi hill wasanother hobby. Nikhil and hisgrandpa would shout standingon top of the hill.The hill on the other side willsend the echo.

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movie. He decided to visit Adwaid’s housealong with grandpa. His grandpa stayedwith him. The grandpas can be friends.Whenever he went to his native place,grandpa took great care to introduce himto the children of his age. Now it is Nikhil’sturn to return all those things. To Nikhilgrandpa’s arrival was akin to the visit ofthe great ‘Mahabali’.

“Grandpa has travelled this far. Lethim take rest.” Papa and mama said asthey went out. They are going to buy newclothes. While having lunch with grandpaNikhil sensed that he has somehowchanged. He was not the playful personhe used to be.

“What happened, grandpa? Whyare you looking bored?

“Nothing, my boy. Finish yourlunch fast. There is a movie on TV now.”

Which movie?“From today onwards there are

several Onam special movies andprogrammes on all channels. Didn’t yousee those advertisements? Eat fast. Wewill watch the movie.”

Nikhil now lost his appetite. Whathappened to this grandpa? He was the onewho always scolded Nikhil for watchingTV. He had also said that children shouldwalk around their land and see things andthat television would impede their growth.He never had a cable connection at home.Only Doordarsan programmes wereavailable there. Grandpa watched only

news on TV. The mere mention of channelsused to infuriate him.

After lunch grandpa beganwatching the movie with the help of Nikhil.Soon he was engrossed in the movie.Nikhil felt that he was being with astranger. Whatever had happened toGrandpa?

He suddenly remembered that hisparents had arranged a cable connectionfor grandpa when they visited him lasttime. So that is behind all the problems.

It was evening. Grandpa was stillsitting in front of the TV. He sat therechanging the channels to watch all thosestupid serials and reality shows. Nikhilcomplained to his father.

“Let him do whatever he likes. I amactually relieved to know that he is notfeeling bored here.”Said his father andcontinued working on the laptop.

One by one the days passed. Witha shock Nikhil realized that grandpa’sroutine now solely included eating andwatching TV. Nikhil lost his favorite TVprogrammes too along with his grandpa.No more chance to watch sportsprogrammes or English movies. He triedseveral times. But grandpa wasunrelenting. On the previous day ofThiruonam grandpa told papa, “I havedecided not to go back. You can sell thatproperty if you want. There also I will keepon watching the TV. There, programmesare frequently interrupted by powerfailures. Since you have a generator backup even during a power failure I can watchmy programmes.I will stay here and youwere also asking for a long time……”

Papa and mummy were happy.They needn’t bother about leaving theirold father alone anymore. Mama toldpapa, “Father is now satisfied with his TV.He is neither feeling neither bored norcomplaining as we had feared.

Nikhil was depressed and angry.He felt like crying. Even papa is notnoticing what a changed person grandpanow is. What a relief to pacify grandpawith TV channels in the same way they

“Let him do whatever he likes.I am actually relieved to knowthat he is not feeling boredhere.”Said his father andcontinued working on thelaptop.

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used to feed him by switching on the cartoonchannel. This should not be ignored. Nikhil decided.He went and tickled his grandpa.

“Have a bath quickly. We will go “, hesaid.

Where to?“I will tell you. Please come.”Grandpa got up reluctantly.While having breakfast Nikhil told

his mama, we are going for a walk”.“Be careful. Grandpa is not used to

heavy traffic.” mother said from thekitchen.

As soon as they got out Nikhilcalled an auto and asked his grandpa toget in.

“Didn’t you say that we aregoing for a walk?”

Grandpa, please get in. I amtaking you, isn’t it?

Auto stood in front of Nikhil’sschool. Grandpa was confused. Nikhiltook his hand and walked towards hisclass room.

“Grandpa, this is my classroom.” Nikhil said pointing to theclass room on the second floor.

“Come this way, I’ll show you something.”Nikhil and his grandpa reached in front of a

vegetable garden. Several teachers and studentswere gathering vegetables and packing them intobags. Seeing the profuse growth of vegetables,Nikhil’s grandpa gave him an astonished look. Nikhilwinked and smiled. He went to his teachers alongwith his grandpa.

“Good morning Sir, this is my grandpa.”A graying teacher came forward, took

grandpa’s hands and greeted him.“Nikhil used to talk a lot about you. We

actually planned to come there and thank you. Itwas because of Nikhil’s grandpa, we were able togrow this vegetable garden. We don’t know howto thank you.”

Because of me? How?“Didn’t you always tell me that farming is

good and that for food we have to do farming? Iused to say that in the nature club of our school.Last time didn’t you give me several vegetableseeds? Those are the one’s grown here. I kept it

as a surprise to show you when you came for thisyear’s Onam.”

Tears flowed from grandpa’s eyes. Hehugged and kissed Nikhil.

“We decided to celebrate onam with thevegetables grown by our children. That is why theharvest was kept for today. Luckily grandpa is hereto inaugurate the harvest.”

Headmaster filled a small basket withvegetables and handed it to grandpa.

“We would be happy if you inaugurate thefunction by giving this to Nikhil.”

Grandpa accepted the vegetable basketwith gratitude and happily gave it to Nikhil. Nikhiltouched his grandpa’s feet respectfully andaccepted it. Children captured the moment in theircameras. While coming back grandpa told theheadmaster, “take out the seeds of all thesevegetables when they are ripe enough. Dry them.Send me a few of every variety through Nikhil. Mustsow them in my land and begin farming once again.”Nikhil’s eyes twinkled with a pleasant smile.

binakanair@gmail.com

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KERALA KARSHAKAN

Kerala State Farmer’s day CelebrationsFarmer award distribution2013 August 16, 17, 18Nagambadam Maidanam, Kottayam

Presided by Shri. K.P. Mohanan, Hon’ble Minister for Agriculture

Shri. K.M. Mani, Hon’ble Minister for Revenue inaugurated the celebrations

Hon’ble Minister release the Kerala KarshakanFarmers Day supplement by handing over copyto Shri. R. Heli, Former Director of Agriculture.

Logo of Kuttanad Radio released by the Hon’bleMinister

Kerala Karshakan subscription campaign Award : Hon’ble Minister for Agriculture gives the cash award ofRs. 25,000/- and trophy to Smt. Suja Karat, Agriculture Officer, Krishibhavan, Koothuparamba.

Hon’ble Minister releasing ‘Harithagadha’ booklet

Farmer’s day

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Nelkathir AwardVadakkekonchira PunjakolePadasekhara CommitteeEnamakkal, Venkidangu, Mullasery, Thrichur

Agriculture awards

Sri. Binu K.Karunalayam, Peringalam P.O, MunroeThuruthuKollam

Sri. P.R. JosephPallana veedu, Ashtamichira, Mala, Thrichur

Sri. Vinod KarthikeyanSreerangam, Puthenthoppe, KadinamkulamKazhakootam, Thiruvananthapuram

Dr. T.S. RajeevAsst. Professor, C.O.V.A.S., Mannuthy, Thrichur

Dr. Laiju M. PhilipVeterinary Surgeon, Polyclinic, Mannarcadu, Palakkad

Karshakothama Award

Harithamitra Award Udyanasreshtha Award

Krishivigyan Award Karshakamithra Award

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Sri. Abdul JaleelMundankodan veedu, Palankara, Nilambur

Sri. Sharlath T.J.Thadathil, Thadiyambad P.O., Vazhathoppu, Idukki

Dr. P.V. MohananAssi. Director, RAIC, Kannur

Sri. Ramesan T.P.Thuruthikkalamana, Thiruvaniyur, Ernakulam

Surya TV (2012-13)India Vision (2011-12)

Ksheeradhara Award Karshakabharati Award

Harithamudra Award

Animal husbandry Department Awards

Best Dairy Farmer Best Farmer doing integrated farming

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Best Women EntrepreneurSmt. Jayasree G.Krishnapriya, Kadukkarakonam, Koovalassery P.O,Thiruvananthapuram

Best Young FarmerSri. Rubeesh N.S.Naduvalaparambil Vayalodathu,West Veliyathunadu P.O., Eranakulam

Best Poultry FarmerSri. Reji ThomasValsalagiri, Elangamangalam, Enath P.O.Pathanamthitta

Animal Welfare Award- 2012Sri. K.P. UnnigopalanMundukandi House (Thoovakode P.O), Chemancheri,Kozhikode

Best Veterinary Doctor - 2011 Best Livestock Inspector- 2011Sri. A.K. BijuPoultry Assistant, Regional Poultry Station,Mannarkad, Kottayam

Dr. P.V. NarendranSenior Veterinary Surgeon, District Veterinary Office,Thodupuzha

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Best Principal Agriculture Officer1. Sri. S. Sivaprasad, CEO, VFPCK, Ernakulam2. Sri. P. Vikraman, PAO (Rtd), Wayanad3. Smt. C.O. Hemalatha, PAO, Kollam

Best Deputy Director of Agriculture1. Smt. Mercy Thomas, Project Director, ATMA, Trissur2. Sri. B.M. Muhammad, District Agriculture Office, Kozhikode3. Sri. K.P. Jayarajan, District Agriculture Office, Kannur

Best Agriculture Assistant Director1. Smt. Mercy Joseph, Peerumedu, Idukki2. Sri. Madhu George Mathai, Ramankari, Alappuzha3. Smt. Suja George, Thiruvalla, Pathanamthitta

Best Agriculture Officer1. Sri. Thomas T.T. Krishibhavan, Vettam, Malappuram2. Sri. Reji G.V. Krishibhavan, Kanjikuzhi, Alappuzha3. Sri. Sibi Sebastian, KrishiBhavan, Vandanmedu, Idukki

Best Agriculture Assistant1. Sri. S. Jayakumar, Farm Information Bureau2. Smt. S.G. Rathnakumari, Krishibhavan, Munroe Thuruthu, Kollam3. Sri. Sajikumar, Krishibhavan, Kallara, Kottayam

Smt. Suja Karat, Agriculture Officer, Krishibhavan,Koothuparambu, Kannur,

Award for over all excellence

Best NRI FarmerSri. Sudheesh Kumar, Guruvayur, Thrissur

Special Award for Best FarmerSri. Paulson ThamThannikkal Veedu, Marathamcode, Thrissur

1 2 3 1 2 3

1 2 3 1 2 3

1 2 3

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The best and most versatilefarming land is a valuable resourcethat should, in general, be protectedfrom irreversible development. Asdescribe earlier, the pressure on landin Kerala is very high. There is growingtendency that the land is being put forpurposes other than agriculture sincethe status of the land has changedfrom the concept as an input to anasset. Thus the value of the land is onthe rising and people expect an outturn from that investment to more profit like realestate. This made a steady decline in our mostblessed natural resource namely land. Unlessland is utilized for cultivation, it becomes acommodity in the hands of land traders, asituation already critical in Kerala. This alsoimportant in the context of climate change andthe Price rise, globally and locally. Reducing the‘food miles’ is gaining popularity even in thedeveloped world and Kerala can show a model inthis regard.

Policy 1: The farm lands are to beprotected and should not be put for any otheruse than farming activities.

The primary requisite for agriculturalproduction is the farmland For assuring theproduction, the availability of the farm is to beassured first. The following policies would helpin the preservation of ideal farmland.

The states like Punjab, Haryana, UP etc,where agriculture occupies a prime position withrespect to the state’s income are now facingserious threats due to the declining ground watertable and land conversions. Many of the Indianstates like ours are depending on these statesfor the food.

Policies related to landThe farm land as per the

definition under as per section 4.6 ofthe policy document must beconserved for agricultural purposesalone. A farmer can develop his ownresidence and care must be taken tosee that a residential colony shouldnot be grown up under anycircumstance utlilising this provision.Farm lands are needed by theGovernment for non agriculturalpurposes under very unavoidable

circumstances, the agencies which are receivingthe land must develop equivalent degraded/wastelands elsewhere and make it potent for aprofitable farming. An act in this line is a must.

Policy 2: The agriculturally potential landis to be identified and demarcated with the helpof modern technologies such as remote sensing,satellite imagery, etc. and a database is to bemade.

Assistance of National Remote sensingagency may be taken in this regard and this areais to be notified as ‘agriculturally important’. The

maintenance of this database is the jointresponsibility of Agriculture Department andRevenue Department and legal provisions for notputting the land for other purposes are also to bemade.

‘Unless land is utilized forfarming, it becomes acommodity in the handsof the traders’

Agricultural Policy

Subsequent highlights of agricultural policy will be published in coming issue.

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The land record needs to be madeperfect, digitalized and made it available foropen reference and official law enforcement. Theownership of the land should be made traceablewith the help of the database made. The RevenueDepartment and Agriculture Department shouldsee that the database is updated correctly.

The Existing system of landclassification by the revenue officials is only wetland and garden land. This does not calls for adetailed classification. The land is to be

put for farming activities. In this context,developing the satellite cities utilising the mostvaluable farmland would prove to be suicidal andthat should be discouraged with the enactment ofa law.

Policy 4: Cultivable wastes should bebrought under plough with immediate effect foraugmenting the food production.

Less intensive crops like tubers, pulses andcoarse millet are to be grown in these potentialareas of food production. Schemes for this type ofinterventions should be formulated so that everypossible extent of arable land is put under crops.

Policy 5: The Kerala Conservation of PaddyLand and Wetland Act, 2008 have to beimplemented with full force.

The act came in to effect during December,2008. During this period till date and area of 20,000ha. has already been converted. This brings outthe fact that even though the Act was passed during2008, no earnest efforts are seen taken so far. Thedatabase are yet to be published for theenactment of the law in full. So the Act has to beimplemented in a war footing so that the remainingarea would be protected. The facts regarding theservices offered by the wetland-paddy landecosystem has to be taken in to consideration whileits implementation.

The service offered by wetlands suchas flood control and prevention, reducing soil

classified in to different zones namely, GreenZone, Pink Zone and Brown Zone dependingupon the uses for which it agricultural purpose,the Pink Zone for residential purpose and BrownZone for industrial purpose. Under nocircumstances, Green Zone would be convertedfor any other purposes. Necessary legalprovisions for this has to be made by theGovernment urgently to protect the farm land.An individual approach should be mandatoryand at no circumstances, the least land ownersbe affected in constructing house for his ownfamily requirement.

Policy 3: The purchase of farmlandsshould be restricted for cultivators and forfarming purpose only.

In order to protect the farmland,Karnataka Government has suitably amendedTHE KARNATAKA LAND REVENUE ACT, 1964 in1995 enabling only the farmers for purchase ofnotified farmland. It would be desirable if a lawcould be made for the farmland transaction.

The Sub-Committee observed that hugeamount of farmlands were being purchased bydifferent Trusts and Organisations and theremust be a ceiling for all these type of activities.Necessary legal provisions are also to beincorporated so that the excess land taken bythem can be realized by the Government and

‘An act of the conservation offarm lands is a must’

The land is to be classif ied in todifferent zones namely, GreenZone, Pink Zone and BrownZone depending upon the usesfor which it agricultural purpose,the Pink Zone for residentialpurpose and Brown Zone forindustrial purpose.

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erosion and landsides, improving ground waterrecharge, water purification and improvement inthe quality of ground water, conservation ofbiodiversity and climate adjustment in the formof evapo-transpiration and reducing thetemperature in surrounding area are tapped toits fullest potential along with the possibility ofbringing the maximum area under foodproduction.

The delay in implementing the Act willhave far reaching consequences.

Policy 6: The paddy fields are to bedeclared as ‘Paddy Field Reserves of the State’protecting the entitlement rights of the owners.

For the prevention of illegal activities likesand mining and clay mining, the paddy fields areto be made as the reserve of the state like thereserve forests.

Policy 7: A wetland restorationprogramme should be launched in a campaignmode.

The ecological benefits offered by thewetlands of Kerala were discussed under Section6.6 The degenerated wetlands, rivers, streams,marshes, etc. are to be rejuvenated to yield themaximum potential for environmentalsustainability. It is estimated that about 15,000ha of wetland could be recovered as most of themare in the partially converted stage. It is alsoestimated that about 3.75 lakh man days areneeded for the restoration. This could be clubbedwith MGNREGS programmes effectively as thebenefits enjoyed by the society. This providesample opportunity for generation of employmentand the employment generated is used for thesocietal improvement.

Policy 8: ‘Ecological incentives’ shouldbe provided to the owners who keep the wetlandsand paddy lands without converting them.

As the benefits of the wetlands and paddylands are incomparable and considering theirservices to mankind, necessary incentives shouldbe given to owners of these type of land forprotecting them. If wet lands are lost, drinkingwater is lost. So necessary steps should be takento give incentives to the owners for keeping themas wetlands and paddy lands.

Tokyo in Japan is considered to be the mostpopulous city of the world. But even then, ricefields are found to be protected in and aroundthe city. This should be taken as a model in thisregard.

To prevent the trend of converting anintact biome, a compensatory mechanism in theform of premium is often needed as suggested

by different researchers and social workers.Wetland conservation acts must be more farmer-friendly by ensuring a safe return on investment(both in terms of money as well as land) to thefarmer who owns the land. This can be anincentive for maintaining the original quality ofthe land that serves the community by way ofseveral ecological services.

Because of its extreme importance,wetlands are now considered as ‘kidney lands’.They can naturally purify polluted waters and havea major role in natural cleaning. Of the variouswetlands, Vembanad Lake, Ashtamudi Lake andSasthamkotta Lake were recently declared asRamesar sites of international importance

‘‘Agriculturally potential land isto be demarcated with thehelp of modern technologies’

‘An act for the farm landtransaction is to be madein line with that ofKarnataka Government’

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because of their extreme ecologic and socio-economic importance.

Policy 9: Land owned by KeralaAgricultural University, Department ofAgriculture, Department of Animal Husbandry,Department of Dairy, Veterinary University etc.,Should not be put for any other use than thepurposes for which it was intended for.

‘Keep off ’ form the land owned byUniversities and Department as it would causeserious problems with regard to the training andtesting of different technologies developed forthe farmers. Considering the food security pointof view, the coming era would of the type onintensive training and testing of thetechnologies. In the research and developmentfront also there would be a boom and manydeveloped nations are investing on the lands ofAfrica based on this prediction. So, the landowned by Universities and Departments inconnection with agriculture should be protected.

It was noticed by the Committee that inmany places, the land owned by Universities andDepartment are being put for non agriculturalpurpose. As per the quick estimate made by thecommittee, it was revealed that 22 ha of landwas lost by the KAU, 62 ha by the Department ofAgriculture and 31 ha by the Animal HusbandryDepartment from the original possession.

Policy 10: Appropriate legislativemechanism may be evolved for the promotion of‘Rent a Land from Farming’ programmes.

Keeping the land fallow is bad trendobserved in Kerala by the Sub-Committee. Thismight be due to the fear of possession by the peoplewho take land for rent for doing cultivation. Thisshould be addressed with immediate effectprotecting the ownership of the land andprogrammes for renting the land for farming is tobe launched by the Government.

Policy 11: Necessary administrativemechanism may be evolved for bringing thedifferent agencies connected with land relatedactivities under one co-ordination agency.

Land Development should be recognized asthe most important measure for the effective up-gradation of production possibilities of naturalresource base. Within the natural unit of awatershed, soil and water conservation, agriculturedevelopment and allied activities like animalhusbandry, pisciculture, etc, will be carried out inan integrated manner with a full involvement andparticipation of the farmers. The watershed basedactivities will be brought under single umbrellaunder the control of single co-ordination agency andimplemented with the support of various stakeholders.

Policy 12: The Government should havethe aim of employing information Technology totransform the existing system of land recordsmaintenance and thereby ensuring efficient,accurate and transparent delivery mechanism andconflict resolution in ownership of land.

The land records digitization is a muchneeded step in streamlining the entire systempertaining to land transactions in the state. Theabsence of an updated database is the major reasonbehind land disputes. A central database having acomprehensive link to all land-related organizationsunder a single network is needed for monitoringthe land related transactions, better service deliveryetc. With such a set-up the government officialssitting at their offices can see any transformationof land or change of ownership.

Rent a Land for farmingshould be promoted.

wetlands are now consideredas ‘kidney lands’.

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Punarpuli or Kokum is one of the most important indigenous andunderexploited trees of tropical rain forests of the Western Ghats.It is a dark red berry-like fruit grown specifically in the Konkan region

of India. Botanically it is Garcinia Indica belonging to the familyClusiaceae. The Kokum tree is a tropical evergreen fruit tree, butsometimes they also thrive in areas with relatively low rainfall. The fruitsare used to prepare juice, pickles and as acidulant in curries. For thetraditional fish curry of the Konkan coast and Goa, kokum rind is a usualingredient. Preclinical studies have shown that kokum or and some of itsphytochemicals possess antibacterial, antifungal, anti-ulcerogenic,cardioprotective, anticancer, chemopreventive, free radical scavenging,antioxidant and anti-obesity effects. The bark, rind, pulp, juice, root and

Punarpulia promising fruitfor fighting obesity

Shareefa M., and Remya P.VScientistCentral Plantation Crops Research Institute, Regional stationKrishnapuram PO., Kayamkulam, Alappuzha -690 533

Kokum fruitappears to be a

promisingindustrial raw

material forcommercial

exploitation inview of its

interestingchemical

constituents.

Fruits Tropical

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seeds all have numerous health benefits and areused in Ayurvedic medicines. Kokum has long beenused in Ayurveda to prevent infection, treat sores,cure ear infections, heal stomach ulcers, improvedigestion, lessen arthritis pain and alleviatediarrhoea and constipation. It is cultivated on asmall scale.

The tree reaches a height of about 10 to 15metres. It has dark green and drooping foliage.

Flowering starts from October-November andcontinues upto February. Fruits are ready forharvesting during the months of March to June.The flowers, which can be axillary or terminal, existin soilitary form or as spreading fascicles. The fruitis spherical, un-furrowed and purple, 2.5 to 3.0 cmin diameter and contains 5 to 8 seeds.Propagation and cultural practices

Kokum is propagated on large scale byseeds. However, due to its dioecious nature, about50 per cent seedlings turn out to be males. Onlyfemale trees produce fruits.

Besides, it has a long pre bearing periodof about 7 to 8 years.

At present no method is available to detectthe sex of plant in seedling stage and hence afterretaining about 10% male plants, rest have to beculled or converted into female tree by sidegrafting. Further seed propagated plants showvarying ability in cropping, fruit size, shape andtime of harvest of fruits.

For raising seedlings, fruits are collectedfrom early maturing, heavy yielding plants havingbold size fruits. After extraction, seeds are washedthoroughly in water and dried for 3 to 4 days. Thenseeds are sown in small polythene bags. For earlygermination, seeds may be soaked in water forabout 2 days. Seeds germinate in about 12-15 days.These seedlings are kept for one year beforeplanting in the field. Inarch grafting is successfulon 10 to 18 month old seedlings of Kokum, whendone in the month of December-January. Recentlysoft wood grafting has been found to be successfuland easier than inarching. For soft wood grafting,9-12 month old seedlings and 3 to 6 month oldscion are suitable. The method of grafting is similarto soft wood grafting in mango and cashew. Thebest period for soft wood grafting is from April-May. There is no major pests and diseasesaffecting the plant. The crop does not requireirrigation, spraying of pesticides or fertilizers.Harvesting

The trees yield fruits annually in thesummer season during the months of March to May.The fruits are green when raw and turn red to darkpurple upon ripening. When fruits turn from greento reddish in colour, they are plucked carefully byhand. At present, most of the cultivated plants ofKokum are of seedling origin and most of them

The bark, rind, pulp, juice, rootand seeds all have numeroushealth benefits and are used inAyurvedic medicines. Kokum haslong been used in Ayurveda toprevent infection, treat sores, cureear infections, heal stomachulcers, improve digestion, lessenarthritis pain and alleviatediarrhoea and constipation.

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are in neglected condition. Hence, there is widevariation in the yield, fruit shape, size, quality andtime of maturity. From a properly managedplantation, about 30 to 50 kg fruits can beharvested.Uses

For the traditional fish curry of the Konkancoast and Goa, kokum rind is a usual ingredient.Wine red syrup, extracted from the rind of the ripefruit with sugar, is stored in the households of thisregion for making cool drinks in summer and is anessential item for marriage feasts and functions inUttara Kannada District of Karnataka. Kokum juiceis especially popular during scorching summermonths as it has a cooling effect on the body andshields the body against dehydration and sunstroke.It also helps in bringing down fever and allergicreactions. Kokum fruits contain rich amounts of anti-oxidants that bind with free radicals and preventoxidative damage to body cells. They also promotecell regeneration and repair.

In the traditional Indian system of medicineand in various folk systems of medicine, the fruitrinds and leaves are used to treat variousinflammatory ailments, rheumatic pain and bowelcomplaints. Chemical studies have shown that therind contains protein, tannin, pectin, sugars, fat,anthocyanins and also the anti-obesity compoundHCA (Hydroxy Citric Acid). Recently, industries havestarted extracting hydroxycitric acid (HCA) from therind of the fruit. The seed of Kokum contains 23–

26% oil, which remains solid at room temperatureto form Kokum butter. Kokum butter is extensivelyused in the pharmaceutical and cosmetic industryas it is effective for dry, chapped, sensitive, irritatedor burnt skin. It is also used for local application toulcerations and fissures of lips, hands etc. Thebutter has many amazing properties that greatlybenefit the skin and even more when they are usedin combination with certain other substances. It isextracted mostly as a cottage industry by crushingthe kernels, boiling the pulp in water and skimmingoff the fat from the top or churning the crushedpulp with water. Presently oil is obtained by solventextraction also. The cake left after extraction of oilis used as manure. Various parts of the tree likeroot, bark and fruit and seed oil are used for treatingpiles, spruce and abdominal disorders.

Kokum fruit appears to be a promisingindustrial raw material for commercial exploitationin view of its interesting chemical constituents.

Kokum juice is especially popularduring scorching summer monthsas it has a cooling effect on thebody and shields the body againstdehydration and sunstroke.

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Spine gourd and mountain spine gourd are two high value wildedible vegetables with domestication potential. While the formeris adapted to plains and lower elevations, the latter is suitable

for cultivation in high ranges. Being a component of forest ecosystems,both are adapted to partial shade and thus fit well in homesteadfarming ecosystems prevalent in Kerala. M. sahyadrica can be a goodcompanion crop in coffee and cardamom estates especially on thefence and in borders. Bitterless and deliciously flavoured, both arenutritionally rich and fetch a premium price in consumer markets.Alternatively, they can be used as leafy vegetables also. All parts ofthese wild plants are used in indigenous systems of medicine to curevarious ailments. Attributed with health and nutritional qualities, thesewild delicacies need to be popularized as vegetable crops.

Bitterless Gourdsfor Widening Kerala’sVegetable Basket

Joseph John. KPrincipal Scientist, National Bureau of Plant Genetic Resources,Thrissur, Kerala 680 656.

L.K. BharathiSenior Scientist, Central Horticultural Experimental Station (IIHR),Bhubaneswar, Odisha 751019

All parts ofthese wildplants are

used inindigenoussystems of

medicine tocure various

ailments.Attributed

with healthand

nutritionalqualities,

these wilddelicacies

need to bepopularizedas vegetable

crops.

Fruits ofM.sahyadricaharvested at

vegetable stage

September2013

38e-journalKERALA KARSHAKAN Vegetable Indigenous

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The genus Momordica is familiar to allKeralites because of the bitter gourd, which is theflagship vegetable of the genus. However, only avery few might be aware that the genus includesmany other vegetable species, at least four of themwith bitterless fruits. Spine gourd (M. dioica) andmountain spine gourd (M. sahyadrica) are two suchentities, eaten regularly by forest dwellingcommunities and tribals in Kerala. The former,known as erumapaval or kattupaval, grows wild inscrub jungles in west coast and lowerWestern Ghats and the latter calledpothu paval (also named kattupaval)grows wild in the forest openings inWestern Ghats and is occasional incoffee and cardamom estates inWynad and high ranges. They cantolerate partial shade, high rain fall andlow sun shine hours, thus making themgood choice as homestead vegetablecrops.

Botany, cultivation and uses ofboth species are similar except theiradaptability to altitudinal variations.Tender fruits are esteemed asvegetables and leaf and tenderclippings are also cooked asvegetables. It also acts as a tastemaker when cooked along with othervegetables even in small quantities.Indigenous communities considerthem as health foods for curing pilesand anaemia. Ripe and mature fruitsalso can be cooked in to varioustraditional recepies like “theeyal”,“thoran”, “rasam”, “koottu curry”,chutney etc. after de-seeding.Compared to other cucurbits with thesole exception of bitter gourd, it canbe seen that they are rich in calcium,phosphorous, protein and many otheressential amino acids. Mentioned inthe Hortus Malabaricus, the first everBotanical treatise on Indian plants,some 450 years ago, they still remainwild or at the most semi-domesticated. Yet to be tamed fully,seed propagation in these two speciesis a difficult proposition. Seeds haveprolonged dormancy and in nature

seeds gulped and defecated by frugivorus birds like“kutroven”, bulbul and tree pie, germinate with theonset of pre-monsoon rains. Careful decorticationsof seed shell before sowing enhance speed andrate of germination. Seedlings may be raised inpolybags and transplanted to pots or the main fieldbefore the monsoon sets in.

The only released variety of spinegourd isthe Indira kakonda, developed by Indira GandhiKrishi Viswa Vidyalaya, Raipur. Arka Neelachal Sree

The only released variety ofspinegourd is the Indira kakonda,developed by Indira Gandhi KrishiViswa Vidyalaya, Raipur.

M.sahyadrica- male plant

The average nutritional value of 100 g edible portionof spine gourd was found to be 84.1% moisture, 7.7 gcarbohydrate, 3.1 g protein, 1.0 g fat, 3.0 g fibre, 33 mgcalcium, 42 mg phosphorus and 4.6 mg iron. It also containssmall quantities of essential vitamins like thiamine (0.05mg), riboflavin (0.10 mg) and niacin (0.60 mg).

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is another variety recommended by CentralHorticultural Research Station, Bhubaneswar ofIndian Institute of Horticultural Research. Inmountain spine gourd, no specific varieties areavailable; growers have to resort to wild populationsfor planting material.

After a period of vigorous growth, the aerialparts wither and the tap root tubers undergohibernation. With the advent of summer, fresh

vegetable garden. Rooted cuttings from vigorouslygrowing female and male vines (before flowering)can also be used especially for grow bag cultivation.However, they do not perenate over the years andhence ratoon cropping will not be possible unlikewith tubers or seeds. The emerging vines shouldbe trailed to trellises or a low floor pandal for goodfruiting. Spine gourd flowers open in the eveningand flowers are sweetly musk-scented. Mountainspine gourd flowers open during early morning andflowers are large, showy-yellow. Both arepollinated naturally by specific species of moths,flies, stingless bees, ants and occasionally honeybees. Spine gourd fruits weigh around 18-25 g andmountain spine gourd between 35-45 g. On anaverage, 1.5-2 kg/fruits per plant in spine gourdand 3-4 kg fruits per plant in mountain spine gourdcan be harvested from well maintained ratooncrops.

The dormant tubers should be protectedfrom hot sun by covering with mulch or arrangingpots or grow bags in a shaded place. Repotting andchanging of soil with the addition of fresh dose ofFYM should be attempted when tubers startssprouting, invariably before pre-monsoon rains inMarch. Tender fruits at the age of 10-12 days afterpollination are the best vegetable stage formarketing and consumption. Fruit flies damagespine gourd fruits, though a certain level oftolerance has been observed. Covering tender fruitswith butter paper covers or poly bags may be idealfor cosmetic look of fruits. Mountain spine gourdis completely resistant to fruit flies. Emerging larvaeof Epilachna beetle damage the photosynthetic leafarea which may be controlled mechanically by handpicking or in large scale cultivation by sprayingbotanical pesticides.

Thus, these two indigenous wild bittergourds provide bitterless, highly nutritious and tastyvegetables during lean months. Leafy vegetableuse, medicinal importance and ornamental uses areother added advantages. By virtue of their perennialnature, rattoon crops continue to yield for manyyears. Being adapted to forest habitats, they canfit very well in the homestead gardens thus fullyutilizing the shade of other crops. The produce,being organic, tasty and highly nutritious, isexpected to fetch a premium price in the market.

For correspondence (e-mail:josephjohnk@rediffmail.com)

sprouts emerge from the dormant tubers inFebruary-March and come to flowering within 30days. Thus spine gourds provide vegetables duringMay- August when few other vegetables areavailable due to scorching summer followed bytorrential rain. One year old sprouting tubers (in10:1 female male ratio) may be used to establish a

These two indigenous wildThese two indigenous wildThese two indigenous wildThese two indigenous wildThese two indigenous wildbitter gourds providebitter gourds providebitter gourds providebitter gourds providebitter gourds providebitterless, highly nutritiousbitterless, highly nutritiousbitterless, highly nutritiousbitterless, highly nutritiousbitterless, highly nutritiousand tand tand tand tand tasasasasasty vegetty vegetty vegetty vegetty vegetables duringables duringables duringables duringables duringlean months. Leaflean months. Leaflean months. Leaflean months. Leaflean months. Leafyyyyyvegetvegetvegetvegetvegetable use, medicinalable use, medicinalable use, medicinalable use, medicinalable use, medicinalimporimporimporimporimportttttance and orance and orance and orance and orance and ornamentnamentnamentnamentnamentalalalalaluses are other addeduses are other addeduses are other addeduses are other addeduses are other addedadvantadvantadvantadvantadvantagesagesagesagesages

M. dioica in fruiting stage

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Plant genetic resources are the key component of a sustainablecropping system. The genetic diversity derived from these resourcesensures the stability and consistency of crop performance.

Traditional agriculture involved superior genetic diversity within andbetween species and there was a high representation of locally adaptedland races. However, modern plant breeding has favoured selectivebreeding and has replaced local land races with improved varieties thatpossess a very narrow genetic base. This makes the crop more vulnerableto stresses, especially harmful diseases that can lead to total crop failure.There are several incidents across the globe wherein countries havebeen devastated by famines due to disease epidemics in crops thatwere genetically vulnerable and hence, failed to adapt to environmental

NBPGRthe custodian of plantgenetic resources

Dr. Sherry Rachel JacobScientist,National Bureau of Plan Genetic Resources,NewDelhi

Institutions Services

The National Bureauof Plant Genetic

Resources (NBPGR),under the Indian

Council ofAgricultural

Research (ICAR), isthe nodal

organization inIndia for exchange,

quarantine,collection,

conservation,evaluation and the

systematicdocumentation of

plant geneticresources. The

organization has itshead quarters in

New Delhi and has10 regional stationssituated in distinct

phyto-geographicalzones of India.

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stress. Hence, it is imperative to scientificallyacknowledge the requirement for widening thegenetic diversity of our agricultural crops andensuring the safe conservation of our local landraces which are the potential sources of superiorgenes for multiple traits of interest.

The National Bureau of Plant GeneticResources (NBPGR), under the Indian Council ofAgricultural Research (ICAR), is the nodalorganization in India for exchange, quarantine,collection, conservation, evaluation and thesystematic documentation of plant geneticresources. The organization has its head quarters

in New Delhi and has 10 regional stations situatedin distinct phyto-geographical zones of India.Besides, there is a strong national level networkingfor PGR management which involves 59 NationalActive Germplasm Sites (NAGS) that are situatedat different crop based ICAR institutions and stateagricultural universities.

NBPGR also houses the National Genebank(NGB) of our country, which is the third largest genebank in the world, holding 3.97 lakh germplasmaccessions belonging to 1586 species. Theseaccessions have been procured through explorationtrips made across the country or imported from

international institutions orreceived from breeders. Thegene bank also conservesthe seeds of varietiesreleased by the central &state variety releasecommittees and currently ithas 4203 varieties ofdifferent crops that havebeen released or proposedfor release in the variousagro-ecological zones of thecountry. In addition tocultivated genotypes, thereis a rich collection of cropwild relatives and otherrelated species in each crop.All these seed samples aremaintained in NGB primarilyas a ‘base collection’, wherethe seeds are conservedwithin refrigerated modulesheld at ultra lowtemperature of -20oC, so asto ensure absolutemaintenance of seedviability for hundreds ofyears. Prior to conservation,the samples are processedas per the international genebank standards. For this, thesamples are initially testedfor their viability, then driedto a moisture content of 3-7% and packed in threelayered aluminium pouchesbefore being shifted to their

NBPGR also houses the NationalGenebank (NGB) of our country, whichis the third largest gene bank in theworld, holding 3.97 lakh germplasmaccessions belonging to 1586 species.

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designated storage space. The basecollection samples are not disturbed,unless found extremely essential. Thedistribution and supply of seed samplesare usually met from the ‘activecollection’ where the samples aremaintained at 40C temperature and 30%relative humidity in medium term storage(MTS) modules.

In case of recalcitrant specieswhich cannot be dried to low moisturelevels as above, cryopreservation strategyis followed, wherein the seeds are heldin liquid nitrogen at a temperature of-196oC. Vegetative propagules areconserved and maintained using tissueculture or tissue culture cumcryopreservation techniques. Many of thevegetatively propagated plants are alsosimultaneously maintained in field genebanks which are mainly located in theregional stations of NBPGR/ NAGS sites.

NBPGR also facilitates therecognition of researchers and plantbreeders by providing a platform forregistration of trait specific plantgermplasm. The plant germplasmregistration committee meets at NBPGR,bi-annually, under the chairmanship ofDeputy Director General (Crop Science),ICAR, for reviewing the registrationproposals received from breeders across

the country. The guidelines and procedures for filing theregistration application are available on institutional website.

NBPGR has been efficiently working in the service ofour nation since its inception in 1976 and continues to carryforward the task of ensuring our food and nutritional securitythrough scientific and utilitarian management of plantgenetic resources. We call upon all stakeholders to comeforward and explore this gold mine of genetic resources thathas been conserved in the national genebank and utilize itefficiently for enhancing our agricultural production, bothqualitatively and quantitatively.

NBPGR caters to the germplasm requirements of multiple stakeholders. The requestsfor germplasm are processed by the Germplasm Exchange Unit, which initially forwards therequest to related NAGS centres/NBPGR regional stations for verifying its availability in theirMTS facility. If available, the supply is met from by the respective centres. In case of non-availability with them, the request is re-directed to the gene bank, which then supplies 20-25seeds of each genotype to the indenter. All these supplies are subject to a Material TransferAgreement (MTA), which has to be signed by the indenter. The germplasm requisition form andMTA format can be downloaded from the NBPGR website (http://www.nbpgr.ernet.in). Thewebsite has also provided link for the PGR Portal, which has the database on conservationstatus of all germplasm accessions in the National Genebank. Information is also available onthe characterization and evaluation status of most of the crops. This would help the indentersin identifying specific genotypes based on their traits of interest.

Germplasm Exchange Unit

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In South India, jackfruit is used both as a fruit and vegetable. Go toany Jackfruit growing area of the country. The crop is available onlyfor four to five months. Is there a simple method to make raw (unripe)

jackfruit available as vegetable for off-season?There are many ways. Dehydration, freezing etc. But the easiest

is brining. That is dipping it in salt solution. Whenever required, thebrined arils (carpels) are taken out, rinsed and used.

During heavy monsoon, villagers don’t get enough freshvegetables. On such occasions, this brined raw jackfruit comes in

Shree PadreFreelance Journalist

Brining theraw jackfruit

is atraditionalpractice in

CoastalDakshina

Kannada andneighbouring

districts.Brined unripeJack carpel is

madeexclusively for

domesticpurposes.

Scope ofJackfruit BriningIndustry in Kerala

Unripe Jackfruit inBrine

September2013

Fruits Traditional44

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handy. Brining the raw jackfruit is a traditionalpractice in Coastal Dakshina Kannada (DakshinaKannada, DK district) and neighbouring districts. Itis in use in some parts of Kerala too though it isn’tthat popular there. In DK district’s Tulu language,the brined raw arils are called as ‘Uppad Pachchil.’In Konkani language, it is known as ‘Sal’.

Brined unripe Jack carpel is made exclusivelyfor domestic purposes. It is seldom sold in market.In fact, none have thought of commercializing thisproduct. Thanks to the recent development ofconducting Jackfruit Festivals, brined jackfruit hasstarted appearing in festival stalls.

In the coastal district of Udupi, isa taluk city by name Karkala.Karkala is an exception fornoncommercialisation of brinedjackfruit. Hundreds of peoplefrom around bring smallquantities of Uppad Pachchil tothis city for sale. The presentbuying rate is anything in therange of 20 to 25 Rs a kg.

Brined Raw Jackfruit industry has a historyof half a century at Karkala. Decades ago, this townwas a major value addition centre for Jackfruit.Recalls Veivekananda Shenoy who is associatedwith such activities, “During those days, in jackfruitseason, if there was day long sunshine, it invariablyensured that one and half lakh jackfruit papadswere produced in our town.”

If the raw jackfruit brought for papad makingstarts ripening, immediately, it used to be dippedin salt solution. This way the capital invested wasnot allowed to go waste. Second reason is thatKarkala is a big centre of Gouda Saraswat Brahmins

City of Brined JackfruitIn the coastal district of Udupi, is a taluk

city by name Karkala. Karkala is an exception fornoncommercialisation of brined jackfruit. Hundredsof people from around bring small quantities ofUppad Pachchil to this city for sale. The presentbuying rate is anything in the range of 20 to 25 Rsa kg.

The raw jackfruit brining is done in a verycrude and unsystematic manner. Businessmendon’t keep it for long. Every once in a few days it issent to Mumbai, Bangalore and Goa through nightbuses. ‘Mangalore Stores’ and ‘Udupi Stores’ inBangalore and Mumbai are the next links in thetrade. Through these Stores, brined jackfruit reachesthe final consumers.

Mr M.Rajkumar, Chairman and MD of famous‘Araliya Exporter Pvt Ltd’ of Srilanka, explaining

about their jackfruit products including

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or GSBs.GSB community has a great liking for jackfruit andits products. Apart from producing Jackfruit papads andbrined raw jackfruit; they themselves are good consumersof any jackfruit products.

Take for example Dinesh Bhat. He is in the trade sincea couple of decades. He buys raw brined jackfruit for 25 Rsper Kg. After fine-tuning its processing, he sells it for 40 -45Rs a Kg. This way, he handles about one and half to twotones of this product every year.

Dinesh Bhat washes the carpels after buying. Thenhe puts it into the drums and adds a few handful of salt. Heis not interested in sending the product very far. He has aband of local buyers who buy half or one Kg from him.“Customers have to use the lose product in a day or two. Ifthey keep it in open for more days, the color changes thoughtaste remains unaffected. Those who want to keep it forlong have to preserve it in a jar by filling it’s the top portionwith salt”, he cautions.

Twenty tonnes per AnnumKarkala has more than a dozen

traders who buy brined raw jackfruit inretail. Ananth Shenoy’s is the leadingname. He is the only one trader who offersready cash to those who bring the productto him. However, his rate, say the farmers,is relatively lower. Shenoy doesn’t revealthe total quantity he handles in a year.According to observers, Karkala must beprocuring anything in the range of 15 to20 tonnes of raw brined jackfruit everyyear.

Mala village is adjacent toKarkala. Harischandra Tendulkar of thisvillage has started raw jackfruit briningtrade five years ago. Unlike all others, hebuys fresh raw carpels separated fromjackfruit. This is bought for 13 to 16 Rsper kilo depending on season. There areabout hundred persons who sell rawcarpels to Harishchandra. Sprinkling ofmiddle class farmers and good number oflabourers do this for earning some sideincome.

In the beginning, Harischandraused another method to collect fresh rawcarpels. He had built up a team that wouldvisit farms, harvest and separate thecarpels there itself. The minimallyprocessed carpels are finally brought toHarishchandra’s shop. But due to laborscarcity, he has to stop this system.

There are certain guidelines topeople bringing raw jackfruit carpels. Thejackfruit must be well grown and freshlyharvested. Separated carpels shouldn’t beartificially moist.

Tendulkar uses fiber drum of twoquintal capacity for processing the brinedjackfruit. To start with, about one quintalraw carpel is put inside. F ifteen Kgcommon salt is poured over it. He doesn’tadd water or make salt solution inadvance. After covering with a plasticsheet, a few big stones are place at thetop. This is to drive out the moisture fromcarpels.

Within two days, the whole massof salt dissolves completely. By this time,

Harischandra Tendulkar with his raw brined jackfruit stock

In good olden days, monsoon wasvegetable scare month. Brined rawjackfruit was a sort of ‘ready tocook’ vegetable that was handy forthe housewife when guests paidsurprise visits.

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the weight of carpels gets reduced by half. A freshbatch of carpels and salt on its top is now added.In a fortnight’s time, carpels lose most of themoisture and get ready for the market. This, keptwell packed in an air-tight non corrosive container,can last for a year and more.

“If you keep the lid open or permit air tocome in touch, the brined jackfruit gets spoiled”,points out Dinesh Bhat. According to HarishchandraTendulkar, “If the product needs to be kept for avery long time, all the salt water has to be removed.Fresh salt water has to be replaced.”

A good number of housewives adopt slightlydifferent method. They make a salt solution byboiling the water with common salt. After cooling,carpels are dipped in this solution. Only crockeryor earthen pots are used for brining. Now plastic

cans or drums have replaced these breakablevessels.GSBs favorite

GSB’s who originated from Konkan area ofMaharashtra is also known as Konkanis. Lions-shareof the end consumers of brined jackfruits are GSBs.

GSBs make a variety of preparations frombrined raw jackfruit. ‘Sukka’, a type of stir fry, roti,spicy dosa, gasi, sendige and chutney are theimportant among them. Gasi made out of brinedraw jackfruit and brined mango is a specialty. Theyalso make papads and a very popular fry item called‘undluka’ from brined jackfruit. Opines Annappa Paiof Ace Foods, Mangalore, a leading food productsexporter, and “If someone provides us well-madeundluka in large scale, we can export it. It has gooddemand.” A few self-help groups of DK and Udupidistricts make undluka in small scale and sell it inexhibitions and food fairs.

Brined raw jackfruit is a favorite of Jainstoo. On the eve of weddings and auspiciouscelebrations, they prepare a special type of stir fryfrom this.

In good olden days, monsoon wasvegetable scare month. Brined raw jackfruit was asort of ‘ready to cook’ vegetable that was handyfor the housewife when guests paid surprise visits.In DK and Udupi districts, even families of farmlaborers were preserving raw jackfruit this way. Inmiddle class farmers houses, brining jackfruit wasa routine in summer that none of them avoided.But times have changed now. Though quantity andnumber of families that preserve jackfruit in brinehas lessened, it is still practiced widely.

Mahesh Kaudange, a DK district enterpruner withhis temporarily packed brined jackfruit

Unripe Jackfruit inBrine, a product of

well-known ‘Larich’company of Srilanka

A model packing forlocal marketing of

brined jackfruitSamples of brined tender jack at Industrial

Training Institute ( ITI ), Srilanka

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Canning in MaharashtraTraditional practice of brining raw jackfruit is there

in some parts of Kerala too. But what is not done so far isbrining the tender jackfruit. This, if done has tremendousmarket potential. One exception for this is Maharashtra. InMaharashtra, tender jack is brined and canned. PawasCanning Company of Ratnagiri Maharashtra has beenproducing this product since the last two decades. Thoughthere is good demand, since the preparation time competeswith that of Alphonso Mango pulp processing, they aren’table to produce more.

One more company that produces tender jack in brine– this is called ‘phanas baji’ in Marathi Gogate Foods ofDevgadh. Two more players, Kedar Patawardhan of Ratnagiriand Arun Deshmukh of Pawas are also producing cannedtender jack in brine in small quantities. In canning process,they make do with a very small percentage of salt in thesolution.

Though Maharashtra is producing tender jack in brine,almost all these industrialists are helpless in producingmore. April May being the season for many fruits, mango

being the highest income earner, theydon’t get time and labour to concentrateon Jackfruit. But Maharashtra’s loss canbe Kerala or Karnataka’s gain.Enterpruners from these states can learnthe technology and experience from theirMaharashtra brothers.Research needs

How much is the percentage of saltthat has to be put? Each one goes by thethumb rules practiced in their respectivefamilies by way of tradition. Is it necessaryto make salt solution in water and boil it?None has a clear answer. There were noattempts to standardize the method.

Before cooking, the brined jackcarpels have to be rinsed with water 3 to4 times. This preparation is laborious.More the amount of salt, efforts requiredto desalt is higher. Padmavathi Prakash,Subject Matter Specialist at Krishi VijnanaKendra, Gonikoppal in Karnataka has doneexperiments on brining tender jackfruit.She recommends to add 20 percent saltand five gram citric acid to one litre ofwater. This solution has to be boiled andcooled before dipping the cut jackfruitpieces.

Practical Action, a voluntaryorganization with its headquarters atSrilanka has standardized the method ofbrining of tender jack. Their method is like

Brined tender jack canned – products of Maharashtra

There is tremendous scope for smallhousehold scale industry in brining rawjackfruit. This is low-tech, low investmentaffair and is suitable for SHGs.

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this: “Select young green jack-fruit. Remove theskin, take out the fruit pieces and cut into uniformpieces (1.2 to 1.8 cm thick). Place the slices in alarge (non-metallic) container with brine (8% saltsolution). Weigh down the pieces of fruit to ensurethey are submerged under the brine. Increase thestrength of the brine solution by 2% every day untilit reaches 15% (Add more salt to the brine eachday to increase the concentration.) Leave toferment for 8-10 days in the brine. Add vinegar andspices to the fermented fruit pieces. Package inclean, sterilised jars or polyethylene pouches.”Scope for household industries

There is tremendous scope for smallhousehold scale industry in brining raw jackfruit.This is low-tech, low investment affair and issuitable for SHGs. But there are certain productionissues that have to be resolved. It would be a goodcontribution if any of our KVKs (Krishi VijnanaKendra) or AgricultureUniversities or Regional researchcenters can develop astandardized method to brine rawjackfruit. Another research needsit to find out suitable method andmaterial to pack the same. Thepacking should be such that it hasto withstand long distance traveltoo.

Interestingly, though thereis local demand, none has tried tosell raw jackfruit in brine locallyin DK, Udupi and neighboringdistricts in a professional way.Hand counts of outlets sell it inpoorly packed pearlpet jars or polybags.

Maunish Mallya, a jacklover of BC Road near Mangaloreis a digital designer by profession.Confides he, “With proper quality control, goodpacking, and presentation, brined raw jackfruit canvery well marketed in our districts locally.” To showfriends as to how the final presentation should be,he has designed a model brined jackfruit packetwith attractive label and double poly-bag packing.

In fact, to cut jackfruit and to peel out itsbulbs is quite a laborious task. So far no effort hasbeen done to mechanise this or to employ laboursaving devices. Only in recent years, a few jackfruit

cutting devices are developed. At present the priceoffered to raw jackfruit carpel or for brined productcovers only the labour costs. Unless the process ismechanized, it is difficult for any sort of massproduction.Srilanka in forefront

Both raw jackfruit in brine and tender jackin brine are industrial products in Srilanka. Minimumfifteen companies are bringing out these productseither in cans or bottles. Institutions like IndustrialTraining Institute of Colombo and like RuralEnterprises Network (REN) are even giving trainingin commercial production of these and otherjackfruit products. Srilanka has gone to extent ofpreserving even jackfruit seeds in brine andmarketing Canned Jackfruit Seeds. All suchcompany products are being exported to around 15countries.

Brining and canning in not at all high endtechnology. If our NationalHorticulture Mission or StateHorticulture Department actsseriously, we too can develop afew such industries for Jackfruit.Another option is to get ourpeople trained in Srilanka whichhas lot of experience. Brinedjackfruit packed in cans orbottles don’t require highpercentage of salt. As such, thisis easier to make it ready forcooking. It doesn’t need muchrinsing.

Jackfruit brining industryis most suited to Malnaddistricts of Karnataka (DakshinaKannada, Uttara Kannada, Udupiand Chickmagalore) and wholeof Kerala. It is only in heavyrainfall areas that soft-fleshed

jackfruit grows considerably. Compared to the firm-fleshed varieties that are ideal for table purpose,the soft-fleshed types are wasted more.

At present, Kerala is sending an estimated50,000 tonnes of tender jackfruit to different partsof North India like Nagpur, MP, UP, Delhi andKolkatta. Even if a very small chunk of this can bevalue added in Kerala itself, it will change thefortunes of farming community and augment ruraleconomy.

Brined tender jack inbottle, a product of

famous ‘Araliya ExporterPvt Ltd’ of Srilanka

50e-journal

September2013

KERALA KARSHAKAN GREEN SNIPPETS

Unmanned Aeriel Vehiclefor analyzing field conditionsThe Manasarovar Institute of Science and Technology, Bhopal, aims to develop an Unmanned Aeriel

Vehicle (UAV) systems for parameter identification in agriculture. UAV’s provide a fast and efficientmethod of analyzing field conditions in large farms. Crop Sensitive parameters like irrigation, nutrientconstitution etc are periodically monitored to ensure proper yield through this system. Equipped withonboard cameras, the UAV’s can stay in the air for upto an hour. The images from the cameras are runthrough a software to analyse field conditions. The drones used for the project are assembled fromstandard components and customised for the operation. The drones are used to select the right time forharvest based on the colour of the crop to indicate several factors like sowing, irrigation, and waterholding capacity of the soil. Application of pesticides andfertilizers influence the ripening of the crop in different partsof a large farm spread over hills and valleys. The system couldalso be used to identify encroachment to farms.

Rice Snacksbecoming FavouriteReady to eathealthy snacksHealthy value added rice based snacks is gaining

popularity as a favourite healthy snack, especiallyamong youths. Today most of them are looking at the‘healthy snacking’ ready to eat category to derive betterhealth benefits and save time. Branded products such asrice cup noodles, rice bread etc are being marketed inmany brands.

51e-journal

September2013

KERALA KARSHAKAN

Rice knowledge management Portal (RKMP) run by the Directorateof Rice Research (DRR) is running a pilot on a diagnostic App that

work on mobile phones. Rice farmer can download these that helpthem in diagnose pest attacks and get the right prescription offertilizers. DDR also provides a second App on fertiliserrecommendation and third one is a slew of knowledge capsules. RKMDalso runs a portal for any crop is the country.

The cockroach is generally considered as a pest,but believers in traditional Chinese medicine which

uses both plants and animals, includingendangered species extracts cockroachjuice for treating disease includingcancer, reduce inflammation andimprove immunity. Chinesefarmers grow cockroaches isgreen houses, where millions andmillions of cockroaches are hatched and beingfed with fruits and biscuits everyday.

Mobile to help farmers

Cockroach asmedicine

51e-journalKERALA KARSHAKANGREEN SNIPPETS

52e-journal

September2013

KERALA KARSHAKAN

Published by K. Sivanandan, Owned by Department of Agriculture,Government of Kerala andPublished at Farm Information Bureau, Kowdiar P.O, Thiruvananthapuram-3. Editor S. Suresh Kumar

KERALA KARSHAKAN e-journalSeptember 2013