The model of a one-cent poly house set up at the venue of the National Agriculture Fiesta organised by the Regional Agriculture Research Station (RARS) at Ambalavayal in the district is drawing the attention of visitors including progressive farmers.
The model is based on the one-cent poly house project funded by the Kerala Agricultural University (KAU). Various vegetable and fruit plants such as strawberry, tomato, capsicum, chilli, and cucumber have been grown in the small structure.
Vertical garden
The model poly house on one cent of land will provide ample information to a progressive farmer to replicate it on his orchard or on the terrace of his house to get pesticide-free vegetable round the year.
The 40-sqmt poly house, erected on fabricated structure, has been designed as a vertical garden with five layers of galvanised iron galleries to utilise maximum space inside it.
“When a poly house is changed to a vertical garden with four or five layers, we can accommodate as much as five times more plants and get more income from it,” P. Rajendran, Associate Director of Research, RARS, Ambalavayal, says, adding that vegetables now being cultivated on five cents can be grown in the poly house easily.
“Any vegetable can be grown on each gallery, after filling it with a medium of coir pith, organic manure, and sand, irrespective of the climate,” Dr. Rajendran, who is the master brain of the project, says.
“We have cultivated even strawberry this way successfully at the Anakkayam research station under the KAU in Malappuram district,” he adds. Irrigation in the poly house can be automated with a garden hose to minimise manpower.
The poly house has been constructed by self-help group members of the RARS at a cost of Rs.50,000, which is provided by the KAU.