Miguel Braganza
It is Vanamahotsav time. Tall grown seedlings of two metres height and in large grow bags are becoming popular. First introduced in Goa by Nisarga Nature Club of Mapusa in 1994 by re-using empty cement bags, this system has become popular because of a very high survival rate of seedlings planted in June, even without watering during the post monsoon period or summer. Now growbags are easily available and this system has been adopted for raising coconut seedlings and fruit grafts.
On June 5, the World Environment Day was marked with the launch of multiple programmes across Goa. The St. Anne’s Parish conducted a live demonstration of how to correctly plant and stake a seedling or graft, including use of compost and removal of the polybag around the soil. It then launched tree planting across Ponda, distributing about two thousand fruit and ornamental trees to forty groups of parishioners.
Each family would plant one tree and give the other to a neighbour from other communities and assist them in planting it. The plants were provided by the Goa Forest Department and Goa State Biodiversity Board. The ‘Green Corridor’ along NH-748 in Ponda taluka from Khandepar to Farmagudi circle was also launched by the Chief Minister along with the representatives of the Biodiversity Management Committees (BMCs) of the respective villages. This was done to replace the trees lost due to road widening. There will be workshops and training sessions in gardening, tree planting, organic manures and microbial insect and disease management at Ponda.
On June 7, former principal of St. Joseph Vaz College (SJVC), Cortalim, prof. Maria Araujo e Fonseca led the SJVC students and members of the Chicalim Youth Farmers’ Club (CYFC) to plant grafts of Malay Apples, Avocado and Mangosteen at Rachol Seminary in the memory of Fr. Bolmax Pereira, who passed away recently. This will be the ‘Smriti Bhag’ for him. The grafts were supported with bamboo stakes. The SJVC students and Fr. Bolmax had planted mangrove seedlings at Zorint-Sancoale in 2022 and he mentored CYFC to grow crops during COVID-19 and beyond.
The Botanical Society of Goa (BSG) and the Agricos Alumni Association (AAA), Goa, joined hands with the Corporation of City of Panaji (CCP) and the Rotary Club of Panjim Riviera to plant fruit trees in 2022 to mark the introduction of fruit trees into roadside tree planting. Many citizens seem to have forgotten that mango trees lined our roadsides and Mapusa boasted of two places called Ambeamni of which we were able to save the one on State Highway-1, but lost the one at Colvale while converting four-lane NH-17 to six-lane NH-66. It is time to return to our rich culture of fruit trees by the roadsides.
