Juicy success story of an orange orchard
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NAGPUR:
Many farmers in the country have big orchards spread over 50 or more
acres, but this one located about a kilometre off Kalmeshwar-Katol road
is definitely one of its kind in many ways.
When you turn left, some 55km from Nagpur, off the main road at Hatla, you pass a long stretch of stony and uncultivated land. It is difficult to imagine a huge orchard somewhere close by. When you actually reach the orchard, you realize that you really could not have imagined something like Dhiraj Junghare's orange orchard in village Hatla. Everything about it is grand, be it size, quality or technology.
The 54 acre orchard has extremely uniform and healthy green cover. If you have been to Israel or have read or seen pictures of Israeli orchards, here you will feel like you are in Israel. There is no variation in height or width of trees, their leaves and fruits, the canopy of each tree in the huge spread is identical. Standing on the roof of the small farm house, you see a uniformly green orchard all around, a view you will cherish forever.
Junghare has achieved on a massive scale something even institutions like the Panjabrao Deshmukh Krishi Vidyapeeth (PDKV) in Akola or the National Research Centre for Citrus (NRCC) in city could not do. He has innovated and converted his own ideas into technologies while replicating the best of the cultivation practices from across the world, especially Israel. His orchard may well be the largest demonstrative farm of oranges (Nagpur mandarin) in the whole of India.
Having attended school only till the higher secondary level, Junghare has proved that technologies need not be born in research labs or come from scientists. He has used his family's experience in orange cultivation and converted a barren and unsuited piece of land with very light soil into a flourishing orchard. He further plans to convert it into a roaring agriculture industry, using his engineering skills and knowledge, none of which have come from books, research institutions or universities. All of this is the result of his perseverance and research on the internet over the years.
"I have not done anything big or great. Information on irrigation techniques, agronomy, entomology and proper cultivation practices is available on the internet. I also had the basic knowledge of growing oranges gained from my father, who owned a 30 acre orchard at Saoner from 1987 to 2000. I have only put two and two together, and applied my mind to make it five. All you need for such massive projects in agriculture is the right technical know-how, best management practices, finance and above all, the daring to take a risk, and, of course, a lot of patience," says a confident Junghare. He says he has just made the best use of a natural gift given to him by god, his technical bent of mind.
This urban farmer-cum-businessman has invested over Rs 4.5 crore borrowed from banks into the orchard. His vision and plans about the future are very clear. His sons, Nikhil and Akhil, have completed their engineering degrees from Nagpur and post graduation from Birmingham University and Kings College in London, where they are running a business today. Though not immediately, they are expected to join him in managing this orchard and venture when he needs them.
Technology used by Junghare
* High density plantation @ 20X10 feet (row to row (east-west) 20ft, plant to plant (north-south) 10ft)
* Double drip irrigation using injector pumps with four dippers at one foot distance, with low discharge drip line to increase absorption area covering supporting roots too.
* Water brought by lift irrigation at 'Jam' dam some 2km away
* Taking steps for better aeration and sunlight for each tree
* Increasing the nutrition absorption ability using nitrate-based soluble fertilizers, which prevent leaching effect
* Best cultivation practices like pruning, pest management, preventing water logging etc
Unique features
* Orchard began fruiting in three years, with average productivity of first year @3 tonne/acre (average of national and local productivity)
* Second year productivity increased four times @12 tonne/acre
* Third year, he claims average yield of 16 tonne/acre
* 20 tonne/acre expected in fourth year after which productivity is expected to stabilize
* Solar fencing for the entire farm
Future plans
* Cold storage in a ten-acre plot adjoining the orchard specially kept for the purpose
* State-of-the art Rs 25 lakh pruning machine on rental basis from College of Agriculture under the Indo-Israel project
* Setting up grading, waxing and packaging units to take care of at least 1,500 tonne oranges
* Marketing produce in domestic as well as international markets
* Taking up forestry crops like teak (already sowed in 5 acre land over past one month)
When you turn left, some 55km from Nagpur, off the main road at Hatla, you pass a long stretch of stony and uncultivated land. It is difficult to imagine a huge orchard somewhere close by. When you actually reach the orchard, you realize that you really could not have imagined something like Dhiraj Junghare's orange orchard in village Hatla. Everything about it is grand, be it size, quality or technology.
The 54 acre orchard has extremely uniform and healthy green cover. If you have been to Israel or have read or seen pictures of Israeli orchards, here you will feel like you are in Israel. There is no variation in height or width of trees, their leaves and fruits, the canopy of each tree in the huge spread is identical. Standing on the roof of the small farm house, you see a uniformly green orchard all around, a view you will cherish forever.
Junghare has achieved on a massive scale something even institutions like the Panjabrao Deshmukh Krishi Vidyapeeth (PDKV) in Akola or the National Research Centre for Citrus (NRCC) in city could not do. He has innovated and converted his own ideas into technologies while replicating the best of the cultivation practices from across the world, especially Israel. His orchard may well be the largest demonstrative farm of oranges (Nagpur mandarin) in the whole of India.
Having attended school only till the higher secondary level, Junghare has proved that technologies need not be born in research labs or come from scientists. He has used his family's experience in orange cultivation and converted a barren and unsuited piece of land with very light soil into a flourishing orchard. He further plans to convert it into a roaring agriculture industry, using his engineering skills and knowledge, none of which have come from books, research institutions or universities. All of this is the result of his perseverance and research on the internet over the years.
"I have not done anything big or great. Information on irrigation techniques, agronomy, entomology and proper cultivation practices is available on the internet. I also had the basic knowledge of growing oranges gained from my father, who owned a 30 acre orchard at Saoner from 1987 to 2000. I have only put two and two together, and applied my mind to make it five. All you need for such massive projects in agriculture is the right technical know-how, best management practices, finance and above all, the daring to take a risk, and, of course, a lot of patience," says a confident Junghare. He says he has just made the best use of a natural gift given to him by god, his technical bent of mind.
This urban farmer-cum-businessman has invested over Rs 4.5 crore borrowed from banks into the orchard. His vision and plans about the future are very clear. His sons, Nikhil and Akhil, have completed their engineering degrees from Nagpur and post graduation from Birmingham University and Kings College in London, where they are running a business today. Though not immediately, they are expected to join him in managing this orchard and venture when he needs them.
Technology used by Junghare
* High density plantation @ 20X10 feet (row to row (east-west) 20ft, plant to plant (north-south) 10ft)
* Double drip irrigation using injector pumps with four dippers at one foot distance, with low discharge drip line to increase absorption area covering supporting roots too.
* Water brought by lift irrigation at 'Jam' dam some 2km away
* Taking steps for better aeration and sunlight for each tree
* Increasing the nutrition absorption ability using nitrate-based soluble fertilizers, which prevent leaching effect
* Best cultivation practices like pruning, pest management, preventing water logging etc
Unique features
* Orchard began fruiting in three years, with average productivity of first year @3 tonne/acre (average of national and local productivity)
* Second year productivity increased four times @12 tonne/acre
* Third year, he claims average yield of 16 tonne/acre
* 20 tonne/acre expected in fourth year after which productivity is expected to stabilize
* Solar fencing for the entire farm
Future plans
* Cold storage in a ten-acre plot adjoining the orchard specially kept for the purpose
* State-of-the art Rs 25 lakh pruning machine on rental basis from College of Agriculture under the Indo-Israel project
* Setting up grading, waxing and packaging units to take care of at least 1,500 tonne oranges
* Marketing produce in domestic as well as international markets
* Taking up forestry crops like teak (already sowed in 5 acre land over past one month)
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