When life doesn’tgive you lemons, grow it at home

█ To counter corona pandemic

Looking at the extreme demand for the Vitamin-C enriched fruit, State Horticulture Dept is growing 40,000 lemon saplings to distribute to farmers as well as individuals

Lemons are the colour and flavour of summer. But with coronavirus bringing the world to a standstill, these bright yellow fruits packed with Vitamin C punch disappeared from the market, only to return at sky-rocketing rates. But when life does not give you lemons, just go and buy the plant. Or that seems to be the philosophy being propagated by the State Horticulture Department that is growing 40,000 lemon saplings to distribute to farmers as well as individuals.

The department is preparing the saplings at the Centre of Excellence in Prantij. With doctors prescribing Vitamin C tablets to corona-positive patients and state governments distributing fruits rich in Vitamin C, lemons have been flying off the shelves. People have been using the tart citrus fruit to make immunity-boosting drinks to keep coronavirus at bay.

Realising the increasing demand for lemons, department authorities began preparing the saplings at the Centre of Excellence. The centre was set up in 1991 and upgraded with Israeli technology in 2018 after Prime Minister Narendra Modi with Israel PM Benjamin Netanyahu visited it.

The government nursery began with 60,000 saplings, and has already sold 20,000 of it. Director (horticulture) P M Vaghasiya told Mirror, “We have prepared the saplings of a type of lemon which is unique to Gujarat just like Kesar mango. It has thin skin and lot of juice. There are about 40,000 such saplings available.

Based on demand from farmers as well as public’s interest in kitchen gardening, we grew these saplings. We sell them at much lower price compared to the market. Each sapling goes for Rs 15.” The saplings will start to give fruits in two years.

Apart from lemon saplings, the nursery also prepares saplings for custard apple (sitafal), guava (jamfal), pomegranate and several other fruiting trees.


Nishat Brahmbhatt, a resident of Nirnaynagar, said, “I took to kitchen gardening during lockdown. I am learning a lot as it is a new subject to me, but it is a lot of fun and surely tests my patience. I am trying to grow mint, coriander and cherry tomatoes to begin with. Easy availability of lemon saplings will be great. I would love to have a tree at my place as lemons are used in cooking or making refreshing drinks all the time.”

Kedar Thanki, a resident of Gandhinagar, also developed an interest in kitchen gardening due to the Covid-19 situation, said, “I used to garden but it was more of ornamental plants. With the current pandemic, it is risky to get vegetables from the market. I have decided to grow them at home in my terrace garden. I have grown okra, bottle gourd, and leafy vegetables like spinach and coriander.”

Regarding availability, Vaghasiya said, “It is not possible to distribute the saplings from Gandhinagar or Ahmedabad as going to Prantij gives people an option to select the plant and also gives them a chance to look at other varieties of plants.”


■ The place to get the saplings

If you are interested in purchasing saplings, call horticulture official Vishnubhai Patel on 94276 4877 or the Deputy Director (Horticulture) Office on 02722 243022. You can also contact the deputy horticulture director’s office in Ahmedabad and place a bulk order. The Horticulture department delivers 1,500-2,000 saplings at a charge of Rs 12 per km. Call on government working days between 8 am and 12 noon then between 2 pm and 5 pm.

Saplings of pomegranate, custard apple, guava, jamun saplings are available too.