Kollam: Aneesh N Raj , a native of Anchal, is so passionate about innovation in agriculture that he left his tomatoes grown in a polyhouse entirely to the bees. There are a couple of aspects in agriculture which one needs to know before appreciating the adventurous innovator in Aneesh.There are not many success stories around in polyhouse farming and not many have tried growing tomatoes in polyhouses as it required pollination.With minimal human intervention, the tomatoes bloomed on the second week as bees have done a beautiful work in pollination. In 40 days the mini polyhouse in his house at Komalam has full of red bulbous tomatoes. His success proved to be a major point for the agriculture department to select him as the best hi-tech farmer in the state this year.“The tomatoes are 100 per cent organic as I could not spray any insecticide with the bees inside the polyhouse.” said Aneesh. The plants were nurtured using wick irrigation and the bees were fed occasionally with sugar syrups. Each plant produces close to 15 kg of tomatoes, which he sold in the market for Rs 70 a kg.With the success in growing tomatoes, Aneesh introduced bitter goose, snake gourd , ivy gourd in polyhouses and achieved similar success. According to Aneesh, the constant buzzing of bees would keep other insects away from the polyhouse. He is using a combination of aquaponics and wick irrigation to cultivate celery, lettuce, bok choy, broccoli, strawberry etc. Leafy vegetables are cultivated vertically.Nutrient rich waste from fish is circulated through a tube and the wick inserted at the tubes at various points will transfer it to the plants.At a time when polyhouse farming has been shunned by farmers due to poor productivity, Anish scripted success."Polyhouse helps us to cultivate throughout the year. But we need to consider it as an ICU unit and give proper care." said Aneesh.Former assistant director of agriculture Tony John helped him in setting up polyhouses."I studied agriculture as part of my VHSE course and it has come handy when I practice it on the ground." said Aneesh. According to him the state award vindicated his decision to turn to agriculture.Aneesh’s family consisting of parents, wife and a daughter help him in cultivation and packing of vegetables to the local market. He can be contacted for agriculture tips at 9496209877.

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