19 June 2025, Andhra Pradesh
To address the growing interest and emerging needs of farmers in Salur district exploring opportunities in spice cultivation, ICAR-Indian Institute of Spices Research, Kozhikode organized a Farmer Meet on Nutmeg Farming today. The event was held at the farm of Shri Leela Prasad Chalasani, a progressive farmer and a pioneer in spice crop cultivation in the region.
Although nutmeg is increasingly being cultivated in the district both as a standalone crop and as an intercrop there has been limited scientific evaluation of its performance under local conditions.
A team of ICAR-IISR scientists conducted field visits and on-farm interactions with several farmers to understand the agronomic challenges, including growth performance, yield, and responses to biotic and abiotic stresses.
In the technical session preceding the open discussion, the team presented observations from field visits conducted across Andhra Pradesh, including Salur, Rajahmundry, and Eluru. The scientists emphasized the need to adopt alternate planting geometries for main crops such as oil palm, arecanut, and coconut to ensure adequate light availability for nutmeg intercropping.
Over 80 farmers participated in the session, which covered practical training on the selection of quality planting material, optimal planting time, aftercare, and crop protection strategies. Discussions also focused on enhancing nutmeg productivity under the specific agro-climatic conditions of Salur.
This initiative is part of ICAR-IISR’s continued efforts to promote sustainable spice cultivation and provide region-specific scientific support to farming communities venturing into high-value crops like nutmeg.
(Source: ICAR-Indian Institute of Spices Research, Kozhikode)
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