PALAKKAD: The government orange and vegetable farm, spread around 340 hectares, in Nelliampathy hills has become the 'biggest' passion fruit farm in the country.
Passion fruit is grown in 25 acres here and its products like juice, syrup, sip-ups and pickles have become so popular that the farm has become a major tourist destination.
"Due to the huge demand for passion fruit products we are planning to expand its cultivation to another 25 acres and bring out more value added products since we have a monopoly of its cultivation ," said the farm's superintendent E K Yusuf.
"It is the only outlet here and tourists make it a point to buy products from our farm. We are looking at organizing farmers to take up its cultivation in a big way," he added.
Passion fruits contain large amounts of vitamin A and potassium. It is rich in citric acid and carotene content. It is an excellent source of niacin and riboflavin. It is a digestive stimulant and used for treatment of gastric cancer," Yusuf said.
Passion fruit, which originated in Brazil, requires a mild climate free from extremes of heat and cold. With plenty of rain and cool climate, Nelliampathy is ideal for its cultivation, says Pazhanivel Murugan, in-charge of the fruit farm.
He said about 10 tonnes of fruits can be grown in a hectare annually. The farm in the Nelliampathy hills, known as the 'poor man's Ooty' was set up in 1943 by the erstwhile Maharaja of Cochin, by revamping the abandoned Polyampara estate with the help of British planters. The aim was to supplement fruit and vegetable supplies for the injured soldiers during World War II. The oranges grown here were famous for their sweetness and smaller size. With time, quality and yield have come down, perhaps due to the climate change.
Farm superintendent said that the farm consists of more than 5,000 orange trees while guavas, rough lemons, coffee and roseapples are also cultivated.