As on today, which is the highest returning(money) crop in india?

Respected members,
I am new to farming, today I got a doubt when thinking about different crops, Which crop is the highest returning crop in india till date. :astonished:

Dear sir
India is divided in to various climatic regions with varying temperature/soil ranges and peculiar regional conditions.If Agar is available in NE as costliest crop.Vanilla(costliest) is grown in ideal conditions in the mountaineous region of ooty, Saffron(costliest) is grown in pampore kashmir,Ginseng(costliest) can be grown in high altitude areas of himalayan ranges exceeding 9000 ft and above & extending upto tree line(where from no tree grows in high altitudes),The plains can boast of artemesia annua,safed musli and poly house related products.Thus your views are very optimistic with less on ground knowledge.You should not think of growing the costliest crops but think of which crop suits your region with minimum investment.You may contact me if needed for any more information.Regards.
rcdixit

Hi Sadhu,
I am sorry to be the messenger of bad news, but your logic for getting into farming is wrong! please do not think about the highest yield and the costliest crop. As Dixit rightly pointed, each region and climatic condition will have its suitable crop. Simplest example of ready-made disaster is cultivating Arecanut in dryland plains when it is actually a wetland crop. Similarly growing delicate crops like flowers, mushrooms, lettuce in any place except Bangalore or Ooty will lead to severe losses.

Please study your area, your investment capability and labour availability before you get in
regards
Levine

Well written and people should have the same kind of attitude otherwise getting into farming will be a disaster.

Regards
Padmanabhan Ganesan
agricultureforeverybody.blogspot.com

Well said Dixit & learnlawry,

I presented myself wrong, its silly doubt that came in my mind. I started some maize farming recently in our region(visakhapatnam). I request ur kind self to guide me here. our region main crops were sugarcane,maize,rice,coconut farming.

I am consulted many people in our region about why they are not trying to do something different like planting grapes,dals and even ginger & garlic.

Technology has improved a lot, but still farmer is unable to exploit the knowledge-base here.

For example, 1/3rd of our region has coconut farms, but there were no intercultivation.

for now please guide me through the best crops (yield&return) for our region including coconut inter cultivation.

Dear Mr Sadhu
Your area may not have showed good results but looking at your interest to rise high you may try out following:
(a)Red lady papaya in case water logging does not take place during rainy season in your fields.Rains are in the pipe line so plan accordingly.You can however plan papaya nursery at an elevated location where water will not stand to adversaly affect your nursery.Red lady papaya seeds are available in pune(maharashtra).
(b)On your coconut plants you can get creeper plants of black pepper.During rains these plants will not die and will silently go up till canopy of coconut trees.The black pepper will be your bonus income.
(c)Underneath in between coconut grow normal vegetable/or medicinal plants like Sarpagandha(rauwolfia serpentina)which is 1.5 year harvestable shade loving crop or for short term grow shade loving crops like ginger/turmeric etc.Thus your land is gainfully utilised and you get bonus in the form of black pepper,seasonal vegetables or herbal products etc.Once you grow up in status you can go for poyhouse and drip irrigation also.
With best wishes for your success.
regards
rcdixit

thankq dixit ji,

Your expertise guided me well, I am convinced with papaya,black pepper ans ginger ideas.

Keep posting if any other choices ji.

Thanks a lot, i want to keep in touch with u, what’s the way to reach u ji?

Dear sir
I wish to be of utility to entire forum so that every one can benefit from whatever interaction takes place.The forum is providing a yeoman’s service to the farmers & I wish to make it outshine in all agriculture related sites.Though you can contact me on my e mail:rcdixit@hotmail.com,but it will be more of a selfish approach to benefit self only.Let the entire society benefit and let every body rise high.
rcdixit

Dixitji - thank you for your contributions in this post. Can you provide more information about Ginseng? Is it being successfully cultivated in upper Himalayan regions in India? What prices does it fetch and where to find the buyers? I ask because our relatives have agricultural land at altitudes of 10,000 - 11000 ft. They already grow some medicinal plants.

One that I know is locally called ‘Manu’ that takes two years to harvest. ‘Hops’ vines that are used in making beer are popular in the region. Apart from that other high value crops grown there include asparagus. Off season vegetables such as cauliflower, cabbage, potato and peas are common and fetch a good price. Fruits crops found there are Apple, Cherry, timber/ biomass crops such as willow and flowers such as lillium etc.

What other medicinal plants would you suggest for that altitude.

Dear sir
High altitude boasts of various rare medicinal crops.Atees,brahma kamal,ginseng,most fragrant sona patti dhoop,small shrubbery dhoop,vaividang,blue poppy and many more crops can be grown in those areas.So far as I know ginseng is not commercially cultivated in Himalayan regions.I have utilised natural growing ginseng(for short durations) in north sikkim and very few plants can be found out in shady high altitude areas.I have never revealed the identification of ginseng herb fearing that morally scrupulous persons will finish it off in no time.Ginseng does not require any buyer.It is pure gold and minor iotas of the herbs are used in tonnes of medicines called herbal.I am not aware about government guidelines on its commercial cultivation.So before resorting to(thinking of about) cultivating it please make sure from Forest department and patwari etc permit it to be grown.If you get permit to grow it it will open the gates for fortunes.It is rarest of the rare crop. One kg ginseng it is equivalent to 1 kg gold.
WITH REGARDS
rcdixit

Many thanks for your reply. Did not imagine any agri product could be so expensive!

However, you appreciate the price if you considere that it is extremely rare, extremely difficult to cultivate, requires exceptional and contradictory soil conditions (high moisture and well drained), grows at such high altitude (3000m+), takes 5-8 years to mature and is highly potent as medicine.

Hi RCD,
we should avoid giving this kind of guidance. Ginseng being worth the price of gold! this is the kind of exaggeration that persuades our farmers to rush in and lose all their investments in a few years time. Ginseng is a temperate crop grown under shade in high altitudes. the primary criteria about any medicinal plant is its quality. when you are a non-native grower who is experimenting with it, there is no guarantee for quality, right? second and more crucial thing is the plant’s roots are extracted after 8-10 years of growth. so are you ready to wait till then to extract your gold?

hope you know the vanilla story in India!
regards
LL

I don’t think Dixitji has exaggerated or provided wrong guidance. When statements like that it’s worth its weight in gold are made, we know it’s not to be taken literally but is indicative of the extremely high price the commodity commands. In fact he suggested caution when he said permits may be needed before even considering cultivation. We do have regions in this country with temperate climate and the harvesting period can be as short as 3 years for American variety. So I don’t know who is exaggerating here. Dixitji is well known on this forum and elsewhere to be a medicinal plant expert. It would be helpful to know qualifications of those who make claims and predictions on the quality of the herb if grown here.

Dear Learnlawry
In your euphoria you have lost the track of all relevant things.Some one made an innocent query regarding ginseng and he was aptly replied.Neither a farmer has capability to go to high altitudes nor he can purchase land in high altitudes to grow ginseng so soon.I am simply replying a innocent query.How come you have deduced that I am persuading farmers to cultivate ginseng.The ginseng does not take 8-10 years to mature.You are ignorant on that front.It may be ready within 2-3 years and may take lesser time if commercially cultivated in controlled climatic conditions rather than leaving the things to mother nature.The number of tubers forming underneath the plant decides productivity of the crop.However it was simply academic issue and not an advertisement for cultivation of ginseng etc.I do not run after money,money runs after me.It is below my dignity to dupe any one on false pretexts.By the way as per you what should be the price of ginseng in today’s time if not worth gold?
rcd

[quote]Hi RCD,
we should avoid giving this kind of guidance. Ginseng being worth the price of gold! this is the kind of exaggeration that pe rsuades our farmers to rush in and lose all their investments in a few years time. Ginseng is a temperate crop grown under shade in high altitudes. the primary criteria about any medicinal plant is its quality. when you are a non-native grower who is experimenting with it, there is no guarantee for quality, right? second and more crucial thing is the plant’s roots are extracted after 8-10 years of growth. so are you ready to wait till then to extract your gold?

hope you know the vanilla story in India!
regards
LL
[/quote]

Dear LL,
Mr rcdixit has been guiding and providing crucial info , specially on medicinal plants .
He provides realistic advice to the members. Some time ago I was misguided by a company in medicinal plantation when he literally guided, which helped me to wake up . Sharing my experience with members .

Thanks & regards,

Mod Note:
It looks like everyone is discussing with the best intentions in mind and everyone’s position is now clear too. Let us get back to the topic. Thanks.

back to track,

I have a word with farmer in Rajapalayam, TN whose neighbor has only 5 acre intensively cultivated Gooseberry (amla) and he sold his crop this year worth Rs. 17 lacs. so proper and planned farming in can get best results. Lets do teh frming with good agriculture practice and leave results to nature’s trust

rgsd
mathew

Dear Dixit,
Can you help me to get Ginseng planting materials to plant in about One Acre?

I need you help. I have a farm of approx 7 acre 100 kmm from Guwahati in Assam. The temperature is between 15-32degree and the soil is slightly in acidic side.
Can you suggest which all crops can be grown in that area under protective farming or even open farming if per acre income is high.

I am thinking about dutch rose, carnation, mushroom, spirulina, aloe vera, stevia etc.

Thanks in advance

-Rajdeep