Medak (Telangana). A farmer from the Medak district of Telangana has made about Rs 2 crore in the past 15 days by selling his Tomato crop. B. Mahipal Reddy of Mohammed Nagar village in Kaudipalli Mandal of Medak district said on Tuesday that there is still a tomato crop worth Rs 1 crore in his fields.

He said he is concerned about the crop given the continuous rains as it will damage the crop. Tomato prices have skyrocketed across the country in recent weeks. The price varies between Rs 100 to Rs 120 per kg in different places.

Recalling his journey, Reddy said he used to grow paddy on his 20 acres of farmland in the village. He started growing vegetables on 8 hectares 8 years ago after several losses in paddy cultivation. Telangana mostly sources its tomatoes from Madanapalle in neighboring Andhra Pradesh and Kolar in Karnataka and Reddy had visited those places and studied their farming styles and techniques.

Telangana experiences high temperatures in April and May, which is not suitable for tomato cultivation. So to control the effect of temperature and climatic conditions, he spent Rs 16 lakhs and built a net shed in the 8-hectare tomato growing area.

This ensured a high yield and quality tomato production. He sows tomato seeds in April and the crop is ready to harvest at the end of June. Mahipal Reddy said he uses drip irrigation and ‘staking’ methods in farming.

He said if all goes well he will sell all his remaining tomatoes within a week. He has sold his tomatoes in the Boenpally, Shahpur and Patancheru markets in Hyderabad and the surrounding area. He was paid Rs 2,500 to Rs 2,700 for a 25 to 28 kg box of tomatoes. He has sold about 7,000 such crates for about Rs 2 crore.

Reddy on Monday in Hyderabad with Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao, who appreciated him. Reddy said that apart from his own land of 20 hectares, he has leased 80 hectares and cultivated paddy in 60 hectares. He also grows other crops on the rest of the land.(Language)

Edited by: Ravindra Gupta