I am starting work on my farm. It is a total of 18 acres in vathalagundu, the soil is red with ph6.40, ground water is available at 600 feet. I plan to use drip irrigation.
I was wondering what sort of crops i should go for, i am planning to make 5 acres for trees, and the rest i have no idea… i wanted to plant tc banana but the scientist who visited said there is too much wind. Is there any crops you can suggest, they told me to go for pomogranette, high density mango, amala etc etc… but these are all long term crops. I am interested in pomogranette but other than can you suggest me any other crop which gives a decent return.
hey Naveen,
are you looking for short term crops/vegetables or fruit/vegetable which are for a life time?
depends on the resources you have and the time you are willing to devote for farming, what type of returns are you expecting and investments you are willing to pump.
I am going to be farming full time. I am going to shift there and live on the farm. I am more interested in fruits, it can be long term(3-4years) i have no problem. Returns i really have no idea what is good returns, but as long as i don’t loose any money then i guess i am ok. I am looking to put in up to 10lacs.
Also labour is not a problem, but it is expensive so something that does not require everyday labour, minimum labour is preferred.
i was thinking pomegranate on a few acres, but apart from that i have no idea what i should go for, some people said amala as it does not require much care and has a good market near by in dindugal. I am open for new ideas.
How are you going to sustain for 3-4 years without any income from farming? If this is possible, then you can go for long term trees.
Accepted income for 1 Acre is anywhere between Rs.50,000/- and above.
Labour is a problem, go for medium and long term crops.
Allocate % of land to Livestock which will fetch immediate income (Poultry especially country chicken will be in demand in the future as broilers are known to give health problems, have Goats as well for medium to long term income, fisheries provide income twice in 1 year)
One is sustaining without income, it is manageable if you have good bank balance.
But bigger worry is if you go for fruit trees, you wont have any work to do till they start fruiting. Most of the time other than irrigating or fertilizer application, you will be free and I dont think that is a good idea.
I think you should have some activities to keep yourself busy whole day and fruit and other long term plants can be parallel. As Padmanabhan has suggested you can go for small dairy farm along with small poultry unit that can be managed by you alone.
Thank you for your reply. I have visited your forum Agricultureforeverybody and i have learnt a lot from it.
I do plan on having some goats in the farm, as my uncle who lives close by knows how to manage them.
Country chicken i have no idea about, but i will start learning about it from now.
Fisheries i was thinking would take a lot of management and i don’t know know anything about it, this too i will start learning about.
Thank you for your suggestions…
Dear Mr.Nikhil,
I am not sure how much is a good bank balance, but lets say i can manage without income from the farm for 3 years. (I am a trekking guide lots of spots near kodaikanal i can figure out a way to make money).
So i guess even if i go for fruit trees i will have some time to other things to do, so i won’t get that bored. (i hope).
Yes i will start looking into poultry etc etc. Thank you for your reply.
You have 18 acres and you can allocate 33% to Long Term Crops, 33% to Medium Term & 33% Short Term Crops. If you wish you can grow Country Chickens inside the farm and as well Goats or Sheeps based on your local market needs.
Short Term Crops - Vegetables, Flowers
Medium Term Crops - Papaya, Drumstick, Melia Dubia, Savukku (Casurina) etc
Long Term Crops - Coconut, Mango, Pomegranate, Lime, Lemon etc
Make sure you know which crops grow well in your soil, climatic conditions and water availability.