MADHYA PRADESH: Ever heard of Alcohol yielding crops. Surprisingly, a farmer in MP Narmadapuram district is considering alcohol a boon for cultivating crops.
Most farmers are using 100 ml of country liquor mixed with 15 litres of water and spraying their crop once after sowing. While most say it is better and cheaper than chemical fertilisers, some farmers even claim it gives a better crop yield.
Premshankar Patel from Nayakheda shares his magic recipie for yielding good crops. “It grows well, it produces a good crop… There are benefits,” claimed Mr Patel.
The cost of spraying pesticide on moong comes to Rs 100-150 per acre, while country liquor costs Rs 10-12 per acre… A little bit of pesticide has to be sprayed for the caterpillars. Spraying is done 40 days after sowing the crop,” added Mr Patel.
Pesticides like Corogen, Amida, Acida, Thio, are currently available in the market for moong crop. But they cost Rs. 1,200 to Rs 1,800, compared to country liquor, which costs Rs 100-150. Many farmers are spraying mahua liquor mixed with water, which costs around Rs 80.
In 2022-23, Madhya Pradesh had received a target of 2,75,645 metric tonnes for the purchase of moong. The state government had procured 3.5 lakh metric tonnes. Seeing the benefits, farmers have sown moong in more area this time.
Around 10.79 lakh hectares in the state are now under moong cultivation, compared to 9.29 lakh hectares last year. The state is one of the key producers of the crop.