Trying their hand a farming a group of three entrepreneur friends running petrol pumps have successfully harvested a kilo of the valued spice saffron from soilless farming at a climate-controlled facility at Dharamkot in their home district of Moga. They adopted the aeroponic method of farming, which is a method of growing plants without soil where roots are suspended in the air and irrigated with a nutrient-dense mist. Their venture has evoked curiosity among agriculture experts and the scientists from the Krishi Vigyan Kendra (KVK) in Moga have decided to record cultivation details of this unique experiment conducted in Punjab. Saffron is traditionally grown in the cold conditions of the Pampore and Lethpora regions of the Peer Panjal mountainous region in Kashmir. Experts say that entrepreneurs in different parts of the country are experimenting with growing saffron, and it involves ample capital investment to cultivate the spice in a specially built facility with low temperature. A leisure trip to Kashmir last year motivated the Moga residents to experiment with saffron cultivation in the high temperature of Punjab. Kshitij Goyal, who runs a petrol pump in the town, says the three invested nearly ₹ 30 lakh in the 550 square feet fully automated facility built at Dharamkot village to control temperature and brightness in the chamber through a mobile phone application. “A chance visit to saffron farms pushed us to give its farming a try at our place. After brainstorming sessions and contacting individuals engaged in saffron farming in Iran and the US, we raised a fully automated facility at Jasvir Singh’s farmland at Dharamkot village,” said Goyal, an engineering graduate. The seeds were procured from a farm dealer in Kashmir and were sown in August. According to another partner in the saffron venture Gurpreet Singh, a group of women farm labourers was engaged in plucking saffron strands. “The crop was harvested after three months; a tedious job which lasted 15 days. We have collected about a kilogram of saffron. Before commercial sale, we are working to secure a certification from Punjab authorities and our team is working on this front,” he added. Deputy director of Krishi Vigyan Kendra (KVK) Amandeep Singh Brar said a team of farm scientists is expected to visit the farm to collect data. Brar said the natural climatic conditions of Punjab are not conducive for saffron cultivation, but modern technologies can be adopted for growing similar crops with due diligence. Brar said it is probably the first time that such an amount of saffron is cultivated in controlled climatic conditions in Punjab. “The initiative is interesting, but it involves huge capital. It is important to study if the saffron grown in Punjab has a quality at par with that cultivated in Kashmir. A detailed report will be sent to the higher authorities to decide on whether saffron farming can be recommended in Punjab or not,” added Brar.
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