By
Sachin Mathews Mani
The use of pesticides and chemicals in cardamom cultivation is nothing new to the farmers of Kumily. In a bid to improve the yield it is said that the farmers of Kerala use an average of 27 kg of pesticides per hectare and a total of 3000 tons of chemical pesticides annually.
Historically, many indigenous varieties of cardamom which needed very little pesticides or fertilisers were cultivated in Kumily. This earned the moniker “The Spice Garden of Kerala” to Idukki district but eventually, these varieties were not preserved.
Meanwhile Satheesh a young farmer from Madupetty, Vandiperiyar realised over ten years ago that the use of chemical pesticides and fertilisers was gradually killing the goose which was laying the golden eggs for the district. He wanted to revive the past glory of Cardamom cultivation in the district.
Thus began his quest to develop a pest resistant, organic variety of cardamom which will not require too much water and can be cultivated even during times of drought. After ten years of persistent hard work and analysis, Satheesh who is now 43 years old has developed more than 14 such varieties.
Satheesh’s goal has been to develop, high-yielding breeds of Cardamom suitable for organic farming and to bring back the colour, aroma and flavour of the past. By experimenting with cross-breeding and hybridization through cross pollination of two different strains Satheesh has now developed “Erumathuruthiyil Elam”. Incidentally, Erumathuruthiyil is his Family name and also the name of the village from which his family hails.
The major advantage of the breeds developed by Satheesh is that they are resilient to pests and able to withstand drought conditions with minimal water requirements. By doing so Satheesh is trying to break the myths that cardamom farming requires a lot of water and a lot of expenditure on pesticides and fertilisers. His organic variety incurs lower cost of cultivation but fetches double the price of other varieties of cardamom.
The main specialty of Satheesh’s “Erumathuruthiyil Elam” is that the stems are smaller and thinner than the common varieties of Cardamom. This smaller and thinner structure gives them flexibility and it is not easily breakable while thicker stems are prone to breakage. Another advantage is that the nutrients absorbed from the soil only need less allocation to the stems and can be directed to flowers resulting in higher yield.
The Cardamom Research Centre at Pampadumpara, Idukki has helped Satheesh in many ways throughout his project. The primary analysis, of the new breed was done here, and it has now forwarded the same for further procedures. Satheesh is very thankful for the enormous support of the Research Centre.
Satheesh’s advice to farmers is not to be too avaricious. He feels that “a marginal loss of 10-15% percent due to pests is okay. Mother Earth nourishes all life forms and nature will provide for your needs”.
Satheesh has a long-term vision to develop Chemical free farming methods for the future and is currently working on different experiments towards the same.
While it may take many more years for the government agencies to endorse his varieties Satheesh is willing to share his ideas with interested farmers and has also started distributing the saplings. Satheesh may be contacted on +91 6282 923 059
