The Punjab government has launched a two-year project to increase off-season produce of various vegetables through 'tunnel technology', and earmarked Rs 550 million for the purpose.
According to official sources, the production of vegetables and fruits, including tomatoes, cucumber (khera), capsicum (shimla mirch), bitter gourd (karela), pumpkin (kadu), water melon (tarbooz), melon (kharbooza), and squashes (creepers) will be augmented by adopting 'tunnel technology' with which these can be grown off-season as well.
The Agriculture department will provide financial and technical assistance to farmers for setting up seven-feet high walk-in tunnels and three-foot high low-tunnels on one acre land. The department will assist farmers in setting up 1,000 'walk-in' tunnels and 1,000 low tunnels in the province during the current fiscal year, while the number of these tunnels would be increased to 1,300 each year till 2010.
Officials said that walk-in tunnels would cost Rs 320,000, and low-tunnels would cost Rs 130,000. Punjab government will provide 50 percent financial assistance to farmers for building such tunnels. The farmers will be provided technical assistance to keep the optimum temperature at 25 degree Celsius and 75 percent humidity level of the tunnel.
Bitter gourd and squashes have been proposed for the cultivation in walk-in tunnels as these crops set fruit through cross-pollination, and 'parthenocarpic varieties' are not available right now. Tomatoes have been proposed for cultivation in low tunnels and for this purpose farmers will be given training. Tomato varieties for low tunnels are altogether different from the tomato varieties for walk-in or high tunnels, it is learnt.