DOTI: Farmers in Doti are increasingly concerned after kiwi plants they cultivated with hopes of generating income have failed to bear fruit—even after nearly four years of care and investment.
Laxman Tadi of Badikedar Rural Municipality-4, Ranukanda, started kiwi farming on about five ropanis of land four years ago. However, his efforts have not yielded results. “Both my investment and hard work have gone to waste,” he said, expressing frustration over the unproductive plants.
Similarly, Uday Singh, who has been growing kiwi alongside vegetables on an agricultural and multipurpose farm with support from the district-based Agricultural Knowledge Center, also reported poor results despite sustained investment over the past three to four years.
“Kiwi is different from other fruits—it requires both male and female plants to produce fruit. At least one male plant is needed for every five female plants. The main reason for the failure is the absence of male plants,” explained Gangadatta Awasthi, head of the Agricultural Knowledge Center. He added that the issue could be resolved through a grafting technique known as topworking.
According to Awasthi, over 1,000 kiwi plants have been planted in the district. Although the number of current cultivators remains low, interest in kiwi farming has been gradually increasing, he noted.
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