Ludhiana dist tops in state in poly house technology

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“I took training for this technique from the Horticulture Department of the PAU. Later, I visited Spain and Italy to update myself. My friend Meharban Singh Dhaliwal (from Patiala district) and I started poly house farming through bamboo structure in our fields. After finding it beneficial, we enhanced our work over one acre of land. At present, we are running poly houses over 5.5 acres of land each.” --- Davinder Singh, a farmer of Mushkabad village

Anupam Bhagria

Tribune News Service

Ludhiana, December 18

Ludhiana district has topped in the state in adopting the poly house technology. Farmers have adopted it for growing vegetables such as capsicum, tomato, brinjal, seedless cucumber, besides flowers.

There are about 80 poly houses in the district. Rajat Aggarwal, Deputy Commissioner, said,” In Ludhiana, about 50 acres of the area is under poly houses. We have the target of extending this area to 100 acres by March 2015. There is a lot of enthusiasm among farmers and Horticulture Department officials about this technique of growing vegetables and fruits.”

Bhajneek Singh, Deputy Director, Horticulture Department, Ludhiana, said, “Through this technology, the yield is five to six times more than that in normal fields. It started in 2007 in this district and is picking up pace.”

Talking to the Tribune, Davinder Singh, a farmer of Mushkabad village in the district, said, “I took training for this from the Horticulture Department of the PAU. Later, I visited Spain and Italy to update myself. My friend Meharban Singh Dhaliwal (from Sahauli village of Patiala district) and I started poly house farming through bamboo structure in our fields. After finding it beneficial, we enhanced our work over one acre of land. At present, we are running poly houses over 5.5 acres of land each.”

He said, “Bhajneek Singh, Deputy Director, Horticulture Department, Punjab, helped me a lot in implementing this technology. It gave new direction to my life. Now, it is my full-fledged business. I grow capsicum, tomato and cucumber in my poly house. One can grow vegetables as well as flowers through this technology throughout the year.”

Farmers here have also been growing flowers such as zebra, rose and carnation in poly houses.

One has to spend Rs 30 to 35 lakh for installing a poly house. Beneficiaries get 50 per cent subsidy under the National Horticulture Mission. Bhajneek Singh said, “This technique is very beneficial as with the increasing urbanisation, the land under cultivation is decreasing day by day. Through this technology one can get more yield in less space. Very little pesticides are used on these vegetables and so, these are good for health.”