Short Duration Banana Ratooning

Profile

Shri Ram Sharan Verma
Village & P.O Daulatpur (Jaitpur), District Barabanki, Uttar Pradesh. (Mobile: 09839376028, e-mail: vermaagri@gmail.com, Website: http://www.vermaagri.com)

Age: 40 years
Education: 9 std
Landholding: 2 ha
Farming experience: 20 years
Crops Systems: Banana-potato-tomato-mentha, banana-potato-tomato- dhaincha (green manuring), paddy-wheat-mentha
Livestock:Cattle (1), Buffalo (1)
Other enterprises:Vermicompost Unit 1, NADEP Compost Unit 1, modern nursery and supply of tissue-culture banana saplings
Recognition:
Recipient of

• Sri Jag Jeevan Ram Purashkar 2007 of ICAR
• Uttar Pradesh Gaurav Puraskar 2008
• Ch. Charan Singh Award 2007
• Pragatisheel Kisan Samman 2007
• Udhyan Pandit Puraskar 2006
• Best Farmer Award 2006
• Mentha Production Purashkar 2006

Description of innovation

Shri Ramsharan Verma is able to determine banana crop needs by simply observing symptoms and status. In 1990, he started banana cultivation on 2.40 ha personal land and today plantation is spread across 36.0 ha on leased land of the fellow farmers. Tissue culture banana plantation at 1,100 plants per acre with a distance of 6’x6’ has been perfected by him. Per plant expenditure comes around Rs 60-70 and gross income is of Rs 300. One of the technique perfected in managing banana plants is cutting of plants at neck height after first harvest and reducing fertilizer application to half against recommended doses. This practice hastened crop harvest by two-and-half months. Secondly, the standing tree provided food to suckers at much higher rate as could be synthesized by suckers for growth and development. The observations indicated about 10 kg per plant higher fruiting than the plots from where the trunks were removed from the base of the harvest. Thereby additional gain of about Rs 1.00 lakh per ha was attained. The farmers earned Rs 4.40 lakh/ha from banana cultivation.

Practical utility of innovation

The consultancy services are rendered by Shri Ram Sharan Verma to other farmers to enhance their living standards. He provides information regarding seed, fertilizer, crop cycle and modern instruments. He is harnessing 20% extra production from every crop. About 15,000 farmers/ Govt/Non-Govt officials visit his farm every year. About one lakh farmers have adopted his innovation. He is providing employment to 50,000 persons per year and his turnover is Rs 1 crore per year.

Source: Indian Council of Agricultural Research