Farmer teams from Telangana’s Medchal travel far and wide to set up trellis for vegetable cultivation

Adraspalli in Medchal Malkajgiri is an hour away from the vegetable markets in Hyderabad. It was also one of the places where grape farms, which need trellis, were cultivated extensively until a few decades ago. The farming concept was replicated for vegetable cultivation. These are crucial factors which equipped people in the villages in Medchal Mandal with the skill of setting up trellis — framework using stones and wires for creeper vegetables. After gaining years of expertise, they formed into teams and travelled to other districts and States to set up trellis in agricultural fields, keeping busy throughout the year.

This method helps in getting better yield, colour, shape of produce and aids intercropping — one on trellis and another under it, said farmers. Also, since vegetables hang in the air, plucking is relatively easy and takes less time. Telangana Horticulture Department gives subsidy of ₹1 lakh per acre to farmers for setting this up. All of this led to eager adoption of the concept. As the demand for setting up trellis is consistent, the teams from Medchal are busy throughout the year.

The trellis concept was introduced into Medchal through grape farming. Around the 1990s, a few farmers used this framework to cultivate vegetables and got good yields. Now, when one drives through Adraspalli, creeper vegetables on trellis over several acres can be seen on both sides of roads.

Deep into the village is a farm of Sripathi Ponnaiah, who said he was among the first who has set up a trellis in one acre farm. After getting a good vegetable yield, he has increased the extent. “The pandhiri (trellis) set up with stones and good steel wires once lasts for 50 years or more. My farm is an example,” said Mr. Ponnaiah, standing under a framework established around three decades ago. Now he is cultivating Dragon Fruit crops on the trellis and brinjal and other crops under it.

He has a team of 20 people who take up projects to set up trellis in other districts. An acre needs around 186 stone pillars and 14 quintals of wire. It takes around five days for the work over one acre.

“Marking the field (distance between pillars and position) is the toughest task as the framework has to be symmetric. I have a team of 15 people, including five who are experts in setting up drip. When my team is busy, we get people with this skill from other villages” said Sripathi Nagaraju from Adraspalli, who took up work in neighbouring Maharashtra too. Ponnal and Bommarasaipet villages in the district too have such teams.

“During monsoon, the crop cultivated on ground might get damaged. The crops on trellis help in getting assured yield, income and good prices. Besides, when cultivated on ground, people might step on vines damaging it. This can be avoided with the vines on trellis, which aids in getting extended yield,” said B. Sridhar, District Horticulture and Sericulture Officer, Medchal Malkajgiri.

K. Chandra Mohan Reddy of KDR Grape Farms in Mudichinthalpally was one of the earliest cultivators of grapes in the region. He said a lot of people learnt how to set up trellis while working at such farms.

Horticulture Officer (Medchal jurisdiction), K. Venkat Ramana, said that since the villages are close to the markets in Hyderabad, vegetables cultivated there always find buyers. The demand fueled the spread of the trellis framework in the villages. Extensive adoption of the concept made some people experts in the work.

Mr. Nagaraju said that in the 1990s, they used to take their produce to Monda Market in Secunderabad or the market in Eraggadda in vans along with milk. After a few years, they took it to Bowenpally Vegetable market. Around 2009, when Alwal market was opened, farmers started to take the produce there. Then came Vantimamidi market place.

“We began with setting up trellis in other local farms. I gradually formed a unit in 2010 and started to work. I have once set up trellis in a farm in Maharashtra, on the Telangana border,” he said. His team once stayed in Karimnagar for two months to set up the framework in multiple farms.

Mudichinthalpally Agriculture Department Extension Officer, K. Suresh Reddy, said that around three to four decades ago, people used bamboo sticks and thread to set up such structures in their backyards to cultivate vegetables for home consumption.