A bold experiment initiated by Bayer CropScience that raises the possibility of a substantial scale-up and financial benefits has brought cheer to a sizeable number of Maharashtra’s beleaguered grape growers.
A potential game-changer, the experiment has involved the development of a set of good practices by Bayer jointly with the National Research Centre for Grapes.
The Grape project, as the company calls it, has shown decisive results in terms of reduction in number of sprays, cost saving, increase in yield and export demand from overseas markets.
Downey mildew is a fungal attack grapes are susceptible to.
Most grape growers in Nashik, Solapur and Sangli have been habituated to unplanned spray programme to fight the fungus without considering weather information and severity of fungal attack. How does the Bayer CropScience package of good practice work?
According to Joerg Rehbein, Head, Indian Sub-continent, the company’s strategy involves predicting the weather through weather station and satellite information and designing the spray calendar accordingly.
“The package involves, among other things, spraying before the rain starts and not during the time it rains,” he said.
Operating currently from four locations with different agro-climatic conditions and soil types, the Grape project has expanded the number of grape growers covered. The experimental plots were successfully managed with nine sprays versus 13 rounds of spray in most growers’ plots.
Reduction in the number of sprays based on weather information not only resulted in cost saving, but also reduced fungal attack and substantially lower maximum residue limit.
Importantly, grapes grown under the Bayer CropScience package of good practices have now begun to be accepted in the European market. Earlier, high levels of chemical residue discouraged fastidious buyers.
“Our experiment has demonstrated that chemical residue levels can be lowered to acceptable limit which in turn opens up export markets,” a company executive asserted.
According to APEDA data, grapes are grown in an area of about 60,000 hectares.
While most of the produce is consumed in the domestic market, the country exported last year about one lakh tonnes of fresh grapes valued at a little over Rs 600 crore.
Maharashtra is a large and dominant producer of grapes ranking first in terms of production and accounting for over 75 per cent of national output.