Prajeesh Janan | Photo: Mathrubhumi
It’s only been eight years since Prajeesh Janan, a panchayat clerk from Thrissur, stepped into the world of exotic fruit cultivation. Yet, his orchard is home to around 250 exotic fruit trees, including 165 varieties of Brazilian Grape Tree. Of these, 18 varieties have borne fruits so far.
Prajeesh came to know about Jaboticaba (Brazilian Tree Grape) through a Facebook video, eight years ago. Later, he brought the plants and seeds home with the help of a Facebook group ‘Plinia Growers’. Now, the plants are cultivated in large plastic pots and cement rings on his 31-cent plot.
Talking about his farming, Prajeesh stated that ‘Frutas No Brasil’, a Portuguese book written by Harri Lorenzi, is his main guide.
“I had read ‘Frutas No Brasil’, which describes 950 fruits grown in Brazil, with the help of Google Translate”, said Prajeesh.
Grapes are the major attraction of Prajeesh’s farm. Rare species such as Polpa Rosa and Branca Mel are among others which yield fruits here.
These fruits are used either directly or made into jams, jellies and wines.
“My mother supervises the entire cultivation of these fruits. Irrigation is an important task. Water from borewells is also suitable. We are not aimed at selling the fruits. So far, all the fruits we cultivated were used at home and shared with our neighbours. Passion is what drives us to this unique farming,” said Prajeesh.
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