Leafy vegetables in good demand as mercury rises

Leafy vegetables are in good demand in the wake of hot summer. The prices of leafy vegetables increased two folds and also their sales as they are popular Chaluva Akukuralu (cool leafy vegetable).

People preferring green leafy vegetables more in the hot summer as they contain water quantity and that keeps the body cool. People are purchasing more leafy vegetable such as Gangavailikura and two varieties of Thotakura these days. These vegetables are popular as summer leafy vegetables.

Ramagiri Rajalingu, a roadside vender at Ichoda, said he sells nearly 100 bundles of ‘Gangavailikura’ alone per day besides other leafy vegetables and people asking for leafy vegetables more as temperatures rise. ‘He sells two bundles of Gangavailikura for Rs 15.'

Farmers are growing leafy vegetables during summer on seeing the demand for them and getting good profits when compared to other crops, but irrigation facility is vital to growing these leafy vegetables.

Curry with Gangavaili leafs mixed with mango is popular as it gives different taste beside the water content.

Vegetable cultivation is picking up in Utnoor division and Adilabad divisions. But, most of the farmers who grow vegetables are not getting good prices while middlemen are making brisk business.

Growing the vegetables to meet the demand is very important otherwise the prices will fall when there is good yield like tomato. Most of the tomato farmers had incurred huge loss, as there was no price.

Some of the farmers even left their standing tomato crop for cattle grazing, as they were not even getting money equivalent to their transportation charges when they sell the tomato.