Karnataka: Rural development university to nurture a fruit orchard

GADAG: To mark World Environment Day on Sunday, the Karnataka State Rural Development and Panchayat Raj (KSRDPR) University in Gadag district will, rather literally, lay the ground for a ‘fruit orchard’ on its premises. This is the first time that the varsity is working on nurturing a fruit orchard on its campus, and the initiative is part of several being undertaken by the administration to increase greencover as part of the ‘Onde Bhoomi’ project.
KSRDPR University vice-chancellor Prof Vishnukant Chatpalli said that the orchard would be cultivated on the five-acre plot of the varsity campus in Nagavi, which had been earmarked for that purpose. Among the fruits slated to be cultivated at the orchard are mango, apple, jackfruit, custard apple. “This is a first-of-its-kind initiative being undertaken on the campus. Teachers and students will both be equally responsible for maintaining the orchard,” Prof Chatpalli told STOI.
The students are understandably excited at the prospect of rearing a fruit orchard. Many of them have already started preparing compost manure and working on the land before the saplings are planted.
“As part of the Environment Day celebrations, we will be planting more than 1,000 saplings of various fruit trees,” said the vice-chancellor.
Chatpalli said that they were looking to plant saplings of 30 different species of fruits. While a 1,000 saplings would be planted initially, there were plans to plant 2,000 more in the coming days, he said. “The saplings will be nurtured and tended to closely to ensure they grow into healthy trees,” he added.
The VC said that the orchard could, with the many fruits that it would be bursting with, serve as a haven for birds in the region. “It is a scalable and sustainable initiative that we have undertaken on our campus,” said Chatpalli.
Pointing out that the primary objective of the initiative was to help educate farmers on the feasibility of turning their farms into fruit orchards, Chatpalli said, “Even small farms can be transformed into fruit orchards. Cultivating fruits is a very lucrative practice. We will offer guidance to the farmers who wish to cultivate fruits on their farms.”
The varsity has already cultivated a flower garden, a model nursery, a garden comprising medicinal herbs, all of which have helped farmers expand their enterprise, he added.