Early-yield varieties of herbal trees to raise farm income in Himachal

Hamirpur, July 8

To increase farmers’ income and check the growing monkey menace, the College of Forestry and Horticulture, Neri, in Hamirpur is supplying early-yield varieties of indigenous herbal trees to farmers. The varieties suited for the lower hills of the state have been developed by scientists of the college.

Sapling cost

Harad Rs 70

Behra Rs 70

Amala Rs 50

Jamun Rs 50

Chandan Rs 50

This year, the college has introduced new varieties of harad (chebulic myrobala), behera (terminalia bellirica) and amla (phyllanthus emblica). All these species are native to the lower hills of the state and are in huge demand for their herbal qualities. The varieties developed by the institute start bearing fruits after three years in comparison to 12-15 years taken by local varieties. The fruit of the improved varieties is also bigger in size. The scientists at the college claimed that the fruit of harad plant weighed about 125 gm.

In past few years, the college had supplied over 5 lakh saplings to the farmers in the region. Along with these native species, early-yielding varieties of jamun, chandan, reetha and malabar neem are also being sold. The college is working on producing a hybrid variety of red sandalwood for the region.

The Dean of the college, Prof Kamal Sharma, said the institute had been awarded with various national awards for successfully developing early-yielding varieties of harad, behra, amla. “A 10-year-old tree of harad can bear around 200 kg of fruit. By selling the fruit in wholesale, a farmers can earn Rs 10,000 while in retail it can be sold up to Rs 1,500 per kg. Also, unlike fruit plants, these plants don’t require care after the sapling is planted, hence there will be no overhead expenses. This fruit is also not eaten by monkeys,” Sharma said.