A former engineer by the name of Biju Narayanan bid adieu to his career ten years ago to pursue the art of farming. Narayanan confessed to having always been interested in farming, and he found the perfect opportunity when he found out that his family owned a rubber farm spanning a few acres in Kannur. He began his farming journey by planting two popular and expensive crops of Kerala—cashew and pepper. After some time, with the help of high-density farming, he decided to plant an extensive variety of fruits alone. 

Quang Nguyen Vinh/Pexels | high-density farming is an efficient way of using land

What Is High-Density Farming?

The concept of high-density farming is an efficient use of land that yields high output while using minimal amounts of space. Biju says that this is the kind of farming that is a scientific system in which a small area accommodates a substantial amount of plants. He says that this is the same as regular farming, except the only thing it requires is extra planning. 

What usually happens in Kerala is that farmers tend to begin by picking a specialty of one or two regional varieties like jackfruit or mango. Because both these trees are packed with leaves, a large plot would be required. However, complete utilization of the land can be ensured when both non-leafy and leafy trees are integrated into one plot, says Narayanan. 

How Much Does He Harvest Of Each Fruit?

On average, Biju said that he could harvest up to 80 kgs of a single kind of fruit on the farm. He said that on one farm, he had planted five varieties of each: jackfruit, sapota, mango, guava, seedless lemon, custard apple, rambutan, java plum, mangosteen, Kepel apple, jabuticaba, santol, boi, longan, and many more.

Văn Long Bùi/Pexels | Biju harvests 80 kgs of each fruit from the farm

Steps for High-Density Farming

- First and foremost, the help of a professional is required to help you implement the methods. Find someone who is experienced in the area. 

- A gap of 2.5 meters is required between each plant. 

- Pick and choose the plant saplings from any experienced farmers or garden nurseries. It is crucial that they are organically grown.

- Pick a plant solely based on the way that it will grow. Make sure not to pick too many trees that will grow very high and become too leafy. 

- Make sure that they are plated efficiently. Plants with more cover should be placed next to less leafy ones.

- The short plants should not be placed next to the plants that grow tall. 

- The three years, in the beginning, are the most significant in Biju’s eyes. This is the time when one should train and prune the plants. 

- Training means controlling the size, direction, and shape of the plant by bending, twisting, and fastening it.

- Pruning is the process of removing plants selectively so that you can manipulate them and grow more places efficiently by using less space.

- Plants that don't require much space should be in pots or drums.

- The plant seedlings should be planted accordingly if the land has uneven sunlight.

Isabella Mendes/Pexels | Trees may take up to 3 years to grow fruit

Are you ready to do some farming of your own?