Hoping to provide respite from the tear-jerking prices of onions, scientists at Dr Yashwant Singh Parmar University of Horticulture and Forestry (UHF), Nauni, are working on cultivation of Kharif onions.
The scientists said, onions are harvested only once in Himachal Pradesh while farmers of Maharashtra harvest three crops. This makes Himachal dependent on other states and causes the prices of onions to inflate.
“Kharif onion will not only save farmers and the general public from inflated prices but will also augment the farmers’ income.The Kharif onion will hit the market at a time when the market is facing a shortage of onions,” said the scientists.
University’s College of Horticulture and Forestry (COH&F), Neri, Hamirpur, vegetable scientist Deepa Sharma has been working on a ₹20.43-lakh project for popularising Kharif onion cultivation in Chamba. Scientists Rajveev Raina and Sanjeev Kumar Banyal are associated with the project as co-investigators.
Under the project, 245 demonstrations and 14 training programmes have been organised in the last two years, which have benefitted 362 farmers.
The experiments in Chamba have yielded encouraging results. The farmers can replant setts during the second week of August and sell green onion bulbs from the second week of October. The crop will be harvested from the last week of November to the first week of December. Farmers can obtain a yield of six quintals from one quintal setts and earn up to ₹30,000.
{{/usCountry}}The experiments in Chamba have yielded encouraging results. The farmers can replant setts during the second week of August and sell green onion bulbs from the second week of October. The crop will be harvested from the last week of November to the first week of December. Farmers can obtain a yield of six quintals from one quintal setts and earn up to ₹30,000.
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