Mahesh Kumar from Palakkad used to regularly call a nursery owner in Kattapana asking for cardamom rhizomes. The nursery owner ignored his requests, even advising him not to lose money by growing cardamom in unfavourable climatic conditions. However, Mahesh was determined to give it a try.

Soon, 110 cardamom rhizomes were sent by the nursery owner from Kattapana to Mahesh’s farm in Palakkad. Three years later, more than 100 cardamon plants are ready for harvest at Mahesh’s coconut farm at Meenakshipuram in Perumatti panchayat near Tamil Nadu border. Mahesh has successfully grown cardamom in Palakkad where climate change plays a pivotal role in determining the farming methods and yields. 

Mahesh Kumar is happy that cardamom cultivation that was started as an experiment has become more successful than he had hoped. Each plant is healthy and has thick foliage with long blades of leaves. They started blooming on the second year itself. Meanwhile, Mahesh hopes to harvest at least 5 - 8 kilos of cardamon by the end of third year. He says that the yield is likely to increase gradually. Mahesh didn’t cultivate cardamom expecting huge profits, but only as an intercrop in his coconut farm to increase his overall income. 

Intercropping
Mahesh owns 10 acres of land each in two places where he grows around 1400 west coast toll coconut trees. Besides, there are a few coconut trees just for producing tender coconuts that he sells. Mahesh says that the yield from the coconut trees has significantly gone down due to pests and other diseases. However, because of good maintenance and care, Mahesh is able to harvest at least 120 coconuts from each tree. Most coconut farmers in the Tamil Nadu border have turned to intercropping after income from coconut trees began dipping. Mahesh too didn’t hesitate and planted areca trees, coffee, pepper and plantains as intercrops in his farms. 

Mahesh got interested in cardamom farming after he learned that some varieties thrive in drier weather. So, he chose the Kaniparamban variety that grows in hot and dry climate. He planted the rhizomes in a small part of his land where organic farming is done with drip irrigation facilities. He also grows coffee, pepper, plantain and areca as intercrops here.

Cow dung and chicken droppings are used as the main manure in this organic farm. Meanwhile, Mahesh observes that climate change has been favourable for trying intercropping in Meenakshipuram and Pollachi areas. Having more rainfall than before has proved to be an advantage for the intercrops. Earlier, no one had even contemplated trying nutmeg farming in this region. However, now, nutmeg is grown as an intercrop in many farms in this area. The round leaf variety that gets adjusted to the hot weather and provides good yield, are chosen by most farmers. Mahesh observes that this shift in farming methods could happen in cardamom too. He hasn’t observed any pest, diseases or fungal infections on the plants until now.

The exorbitant price of chemical fertilizers that are considered inevitable for cardamom cultivation is often a major challenge for cardamom farmers. But, Mahesh doesn’t have to worry about that as his is an organic farm. However, he also observes that the pods take more time to get ready for harvest due to the hot weather. So, the intervals between harvest seasons may be longer than usual. 

Mahesh notes that the effects of climate change in agriculture shouldn’t be ignored. He says that the farming methods and the crops that are grown in an area should be changed or rotated based on the climatic conditions. This is why Mahesh’s cardamom farming in Palakkad’s hot weather cannot be brushed aside merely as an experiment. Phone - 8848313207