Now, lemon farmers are a happy lot following a healthy market trend. Villiseri village in Kovilpatti taluk is known for cultivation of lemon fruit and farmers are largely dependent on it. Though other crops are raised seasonally, lemon tends to be a promising crop for this village. Around 150 farmers are engaged in raising this crop on 500 acres at Villiseri, K. Balamurugan, a progressive farmer, who owns a lemon grove at this village, said on Friday.
Normally during this season, a kilogram of lemon would fetch Rs.20, but now its market price has doubled at Rs.40. Since lemon production in Andhra Pradesh and Bijapur in Karnataka was down considerably this year owing to lack of rainfall, lemons produced at Villiseri commanded a better market price much to the benefit of the farmers here. For many years, the Villiseri farmers created a market base in Kerala, where stakeholders were also relying largely on Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka.
He said PKM-I crop variety was cultivated on the red soil with the aid of well irrigation system. “Around 16 to 20 lemons weighed one kilogram,” he said. For irrigation, water from 120 wells at Villiseri was drawn. Only organic manure was applied. The lemon fruit could be grown in a period of 150 days.
Next to Puliayangudi, which is known as ‘lemon city’ in Tirunelveli district, lemon was being cultivated considerably at Villiseri among the southern districts of Tamil Nadu, Mr. Balamurugan told The Hindu .
The traditional cultivation of lemon has improved the prospects of many in Villiseri. A successful and consistent record in this crop cultivation benefitted the farmers who helped their children study professional courses. Around 250 engineers from this village are working in 18 different countries abroad, now.
Moreover, the villagers of Villiseri follow a tradition and principle that lands owned by them would not be allowed to be used for non-agricultural activities, another farmer A. Balakrishnan said. He said every piece of land was cultivable and no land has been left fallow here. But, he expressed concern over lack of infrastructure facility for storing lemons, which could be marketed when demand for the fruit was high. Assistant Director of Agriculture S. Mathiazhagan, (Quality Control), who inspected the lemon grove, instructed the farmers to apply fertilizers at regular intervals.

Source : The Hindu