15-11-2024
Baby corn plays a significant role in ensuring livelihood security and augmenting income level of farmers in peri-urban areas. HM 4 possess all the desirable traits of an ideal baby corn hybrid. Its cultivation is gaining momentum in nearby areas of cities. This single cross hybrid has an attractive creamish to light yellow colour with desirable size of 6.0 to 11.0 cm in length and 1.0 to 1.5 cm in diameter with regular row arrangement. It is highly nutritive and sweet in taste. It has most desirable medium height plant type, lodging resistant, prolific, responsive to high dose of fertilizers and plant remains green after picking of baby corn. Three to four pickings are common. Green plants also provides quality fodder to livestock. Additional income is also obtained through intercropping with vegetables, pulses, flowers etc
Every farmer in Aterna village of Sonipat district in Haryana is cultivating baby corn. They were using seed obtained from private companies at the rate of Rs.160- 200/- per kilo seed. Seed rate was 20-25 kg/acre. Thus, cost of cultivation was high. Shri Kanwal Singh Chauhan of this village came to know about HM 4 baby corn hybrid from breeder of this hybrid, Dr. Sain Dass, Corn Breeder, Regional Station, Chaudhary Charan Singh Haryana Agriculture University, Uchani, Karnal. He obtained seed of HM 4 and introduced in his village for baby corn cultivation. He obtained seed at very cheap rate i.e. around Rs.50/- per kilo of seed. Seed rate of this hybrid is 8-10 kg/ acre. Therefore, cost of cultivation was reduced. Produce of baby corn was brought in Azadpur Mandi, Delhi. Its demand increased due to desirable colour, size and taste of this hybrid. He invested less than Rs.10,000/- per acre and earned more than Rs.30,000/- per acre within 60 days of crop duration. He started growing HM 4 round the year. His neighbours also adopted this hybrid. Haryana Seed Development Corporation (HSDC) is producing this hybrid and making available to the farmers.
adopted this hybrid. Haryana Seed Development Corporation (HSDC) is producing this hybrid and making available to the farmers. Baby Corn Farmer in Aterna Village Every farmer is well experienced about advantages of baby corn cultivation using HM4 hybrid. It proved boon for the farmers of Aterna village. Socio-economic condition of the villagers significantly improved. Every farm family has own pucca house, land, vehicles and other facilities. Farmers of this village are also producing truthful seed of HM 4 hybrid. They are fulfilling seed requirement of (HM 4) of neighbour as well as farmers of different parts of the country. Training programmes on seed production, cultivation and of baby corn were organized by the Directorate of Maize Research in the village. Farm women are keenly interested in recipes of baby corn. Trained farm women are preparing recipes viz. pickle, murbaba, packora, soup, chutney, Manchurian, vegetables, kheer, burfy, laddoo, etc. in the village.
Farm women are also interested to farm self-help group for wholistic development of family and village. Villagers are also interested in setting up canning plant, frozen unit, etc. for preservation and storage of baby corn for supplying in distant markets and export. They also want to set up seed processing plant for cleaning, grading, bagging, etc. of seed. This village is considered as model village of baby corn in India.