KALPETTA: Tirunelli, the tribal dominated panchayat in Wayanad which is known for its traditional farming methods, witnessed a unique harvest on Friday with students, farm workers and farm activists harvesting the experimental paddy farm of Thanal, an NGO-based at Thiruvananthapuram, on which were 219 varieties of paddy. The farm on 1.3 acres land was an attempt by Thanal to conserve the vanishing traditional varieties of the farm sector. Started in 2009 with 60 varieties, the collection of seeds increased year after year.
C Jayakumar, a trust member of Thanal told DC that the harvest was a colourful event with students of the Government Vocational Higher Secondary School, Mananthavadi joining in the harvest. “We are also conducting a six-month paddy familiarization course for the students”, he said. Thanal is not about conserving seeds as a laboratory does, but to inspire the farming community to start farming the variety. “When a seed is gone, it is gone forever”, Jayakumar said. “There are about hundred farmers across the state engaged in serious farming who would also participate in the conservation mission”, Mr Jayakumar said.
The students first collected the mature seeds and then reaped the paddy. In the 1.3 acre land, only a few varieties, which are harvested, are ripe. There are varieties with maturity periods ranging from 65 days to 180 days. The other varieties would be harvested when they are mature enough. Following the random planting method for asynchronization, there is all possibility for cross-pollination leading to the origin of new varieties.
