Indian Horticulture8

P Mooventhan, Jagdish Kumar,Anil Dixit, K C Sharma, P N Sivalingam,

Amit Kumar Gupta, Uttam Singh,S R K Singh, P Venkatesan and Pankaj Kaushal

Farmer FIRSTFarmer FIRSTFarmer FIRSTFarmer FIRSTFarmer FIRST

Arka Rakshak tomato tosolve farmer woes

Arka Rakshak tomato seed variety was promoted under the Farmer FIRSTProgramme as an alternative to local varieties among the farmers in theKasdol block of Chhattisgarh to overcome the challenges faced by the tomatocultivators such as pest and disease attack, low quality, lack of scientificproduction, and lack of resources and technical know-how. Increased yieldwith an initial yield potential of 75-80 t/ha was recorded after the use of thedisease-resistant variety with better quality fruits suitable for distant marketing.

TOMATO is one of the importantvegetable crops grown in India.

India is yet to achieve the yieldpotential of 60-80 t/ha due to lowadoption of hybrids and other factorssuch as occurrence of pests, diseasesand abiotic factors. Among bioticfactors, diseases like tomato leaf curlvirus (ToLCV), bacterial wilt (BW)and early blight (EB) cause yield lossup to 70-100%. The Indian Institute ofHorticultural Research, Bengaluru forthe first time in India developed thetriple disease resistant tomatohybrid Arka Rakshak which isresistant to the three prominent diseases with the initialyield potential of 75-80 t/ha. Fruits of the hybrid are squareround, large (90-100 g), deep red with very firm fruits andsuitable for fresh distant marketing.

Focus areaSmall and marginal vegetable growers of villages

covered under the Farmers First Programme.

ChallengesTomato has been the predominantly grown vegetable

crop in the region since many years. However, the farmersused local varieties with seeds purchased from privatecompanies and input suppliers. They lacked the technicalknowledge of tomato cultivation and were often affected bysevere pest and diseases and hence suffered major losses.Tomato leaf curl virus (ToLCV) and bacterial wilt (BW) arethe major problem in the area and the cost of cultivation ishigh due to periodic pesticide spraying. The yield is also

Performance Indicators

Technical observation Farmer’s practice Intervention

Yield (q/ha) 36.20 49.60

Economic indicators

Cost of cultivation (`/ha) 31,175 29,500

Net income (`/ha) 41,225 69,700

B:C ratio 1.32 2.14

Farmer’s reaction • Arka Rakshaks is very good variety with diseaseresistance and higher yield

• Scientific production technology is cost effective

• Good keeping quality and taste

• Ready to bring more area under tomato cultivation

May–June 2019 9

marginal vegetable growers in the area to get betteryield and market prices. The FFP programme alsohelped to overcome the technological barriers faced bythe farmers by providing the needed technicalknowledge and training.

For further interaction, please write to:P Mooventhan P Mooventhan P Mooventhan P Mooventhan P Mooventhan (Scientist), ICAR-National Institute of BioticStress Management, Raipur, Chhattisgarh. Email:agriventhan@yahoo.co.in

less. Farmers also faced other problems such as shortage oflabour, lack of suitable varieties, low technical knowledgeand low quality produce.

Extension activity adoptedDuring the baseline survey and field visit, it was found

that the farmers were practicing traditional methods oftomato cultivation with the locally available seeds andvarieties. They were facing problems such as lowproduction, high pest and disease infestation etc. Afteridentifying the problems, Arka Rakshak tomato seedvariety was purchased from ICAR-IIHR, Bengaluru andwas distributed to the farmers in the area. Various capacityproduction programmes for scientific production andadoption of plant protection measures were organised. As aresult the farmers received good quality tomatoes withincreased yield.

Impact and Lessons LearntEarlier, majority of the farmers had to depend upon

local input dealers for purchasing inputs related toagriculture. After the extensive extension work carried outin the area by providing trainings, the farmers started toadopt scientific method of farming. This resulted inreduced cost of cultivation and increased production.

SUMMARY

The disease-resistant variety helped the small and