Firm finds profitable taste in 'hottest chilly'
Source: The Sangai Express
Imphal, May 12 2014 :
Private firm M/S Global Vegetables is successfully producing U-Morok variety of chilly on commercial scale apart from supplying seedlings of the chilly variety to farmers of the State.
Speaking to some media persons at his Nungoi Awang Leikai home today, M/S Global Enterprises proprietor Yambem Ibohanbi said that he started nurturing U-Morok seedlings at the suggestion of U-Morok lovers.
Altogether 308 numbers of fully matured U-Morok plants which have started bearing fruits are now growing in his farm spread over 500 sq metres.
Moreover, 10,000 seedlings have also been successfully prepared.
One U-Morok plant which bore over 100 U-Moroks was the centre of attraction at the last edition of Manipur Sangai Festival.
The plant cultivated by Ibohanbi stood 15 feet tall.
An application has been sent for inclusion of the extraordinary plant in Limca Book of Records, said the proud farmer.
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Talking about cultivation process of U-Morok, Ibohanbi said that extreme care should be taken at the time of planting U-Morok seedlings and temperature should be maintained at a consistent range.
Noting that U-Morok has been named Bhoot Jalukia and Naga Chilly outside Manipur, Ibohanbi said that he preferred to call the chilly variety Thoibi U-Morok.
He went on to claim that hotness of U-Morok grown in his farm might have reached 400,000 to 750,000 Scoville units.
Scoville is a unit for measuring hotness of chillies.
For more research, a specimen of the U-Morok plant has been sent to ICAR.
The chilly farm was set up in the last part of 2012, said Ibohanbi, a Commerce Graduate.
He took up kitchen gardening as a hobby and it steadily expanded to the present stage.
Now, he can earn handsome profit out of cultivating U-Morok.
Price of U-Morok seedlings varies according to their size.
The lowest price of a single seedling is Rs 15 .
In addition to U-Morok, Asparagus (a plant species with medicinal values) and bringjal seedlings are produced in the farm.
Asparagus seeds were imported from Canada, he added.