Chandigarh, Oct 26 (IANS) After shifting from conventional farming, farmer Harbir Singh is cultivating seedless cucumber, coloured capsicum, melon and potato by setting up a ‘polyhouse’ or a greenhouse and earning an average annual profit of Rs 12 to Rs 14 lakh.

Director Horticulture Shailender Kaur on Sunday said that taking advantage of the government’s schemes, Singh, a farmer from village Saraba in Ludhiana district, is earning handsome profits through polyhouse farming and has become an inspiration for other farmers.

After obtaining a degree in electrical engineering, Singh chose farming as his profession instead of taking a job, setting new benchmarks by integrating traditional farming with modern technology. The department is working to promote crop diversification and enhance farmers’ income across the state. The farmer-centric schemes are proving to be a boon for cultivators, ensuring every possible support to help them adopt modern farming practices.

In 2014, farmer Singh shifted from conventional vegetable cultivation and received specialised training from the Centre of Excellence for Vegetables in Kartarpur. He said under the National Horticulture Mission Scheme, he availed subsidy support to set up his polyhouse and started growing coloured capsicum and seedless cucumber. He regularly consulted officials of the Horticulture Department to resolve farming-related challenges.

Singh believes hard work, dedication, understanding problems minutely and consistent guidance from the Horticulture Department officials have been the key factors behind his success.

According to Ludhiana-based Punjab Agricultural University (PAU), greenhouses are framed structures covered with UV-stabilised transparent or translucent plastic film to grow crops under partial or fully controlled environmental conditions to get maximum productivity and quality produce. It says crops can be grown in any season of the year depending on the demand and market.

The result: excellent quality produce, free from any blemishes. Also, it is easy to protect crops against pests and diseases and extreme climatic conditions.

The site for the polyhouse should be well drained and fairly shadow-free. It should be away from obstruction (east, west and south directions) at least three times the height of the obstruction. The crops suitable for cultivation in poly or greenhouse are capsicum, tomato, cucumber, leafy vegetables, etc. Flowers such as rose, gerbera, lilium, etc., are suitable for cultivation in a polyhouse.

–IANS

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