Indian Council of Agricultural Research-Sugarcane Breeding Institute (ICAR-SBI), Coimbatore, has helped a farmer grow organic cane and market jaggery.
A press release from the institute said that after farmer R. Ramasamy of Varappalayam, Thadagam, expressed his desire to organically cultivate sugarcane, the extension section of ICAR-SBI that maintains a technology park supplied Co 0212 and Co 11015 varieties sugarcane that were suited for making quality jaggery with a golden yellow hue and high retention quality.
The technology park, which grows popular sugarcane varieties on demonstration plots for farmers’ benefit, supplied the two varieties in January 2020.
Mr. Ramasamy, a certified organic farmer since 2017, raised sugarcane on an acre using inputs collected from three native Kangeyam cows. Last year he had harvested 82.65 tones and from it produced 10.20 tonnes jaggery, the release said. This year the farmer was harvesting cane and preparation of jaggery was going in his farm for the past 15 days.
Principal scientist, Agriculture Extension, ICAR-SBI, T. Rajula Shanty worked the farmer in helping grow the cane, the release added.
