Prof S Ramesh Babu who won 97 world records has set up a unique Botanical Garden in Bengaluru. He has dedicated his 97th World Record to farmers
The agriculture sector in Bharat is affected by urbanisation. Many farmers have left their villages and settled in cities doing menial jobs. They blame the system where farmers are always at the losing end and agriculture produce brokers make huge profits.
Here is a refreshing story of Prof S Ramesh Babu, a retired metallurgical scientist in Bengaluru. His passion for growing plants and trees can be seen from the fact that he sold his property in the city and purchased farmland in a village to create a Botanical Garden.
Prof Babu has won 96 World Records and nine National Records in various areas. In gardening alone, he holds 11 World Records. It is his 97th World record and he has dedicated it to the farmers of India.
Remarkably, out of the 530 saplings planted, nearly 515 saplings have successfully survived in the new environment and are all growing very healthy. Many tree saplings have already started showing up fruiting and flowering and some have also yielded in a very short time!
Dedicating his international recognition to farmers of India, Prof S Ramesh Babu said, “I heartily dedicate my 97th World Record for fastest creation of a unique organic botanical garden from scratch to the farmers of India for toiling hard in the fields to produce food for our country.”
Laudable Achievement
Last June, Prof S Ramesh Babu sold his six bedroom bungalow in Tatanagar, Bangalore and purchased a 1 ½ acre red soil agricultural plot at Hallare village, Nanjangud taluk in Mysore district to build a farmhouse to stay there till his end. His determination to create a highly unique organic botanical garden in his farm could be seen from the fact that he started from scratch. The totally undeveloped plot was registered on October 26, 2021, and after quickly obtaining the necessary RTC, in just 110 days he transformed it into an enviable form. A bore well was drilled up to 210 feet with copious clear water from 180 feet onwards, Government power was officially taken with the erection of an electrical pole, a 5HP submerged motor was inserted into the bore well to get water for cultivation and an unconventional novel bamboo fencing was provided to a chosen 32 guntas out of his 56 guntas land. Eighteen hours of well planned tractor tilling was done to get a flat plot with a fine texture of the red soil. A tractor load of dry goat manure and 80 kgs of Bevina Hindi were procured, and systematically 1 ft depth pits were prepared in 17 columns and 32 rows with 8 feet distance apart. Five hundred tree saplings of over 110 species of fruits, flowers, vegetables, forest and park trees were specially chosen.
Incredible Progress In Short Time
Most of these saplings were purchased at the famous Gandhi Krishi Vignana Kendra (GKVK) of Bangalore and some reputed private nurseries around Devanahalli. They were brought to Hallare by trucks and were duly left to get acclimated for three weeks, before carefully planting them in their designated dug pits using a mixture of Bevina hindi, goat manure and red soil. A well planned drip irrigation system was laid in place to nurture the tender saplings with adequate water. As an emergency measure, a 2,000 litre water tank has also been installed as a standby, in case of unexpected power failure. Remarkably, out of the 530 saplings planted, nearly 515 saplings have successfully survived in the new environment and are all growing very healthy. Many tree saplings have already started showing up fruiting and flowering and some have also yielded in a very short time! The entire process of creating this unique botanical garden of trees has been very systematically documented through both photography and videography, and the process of this evolution is being regularly shared through WhatsApp with Ramesh’s contacts world over. Umpteen appreciation and congratulatory messages have been regularly received. Many experts in the field of agriculture visiting the record garden are astonished by the progress made in such a short duration.
After stabilisation of the presently grown tree saplings, another 25 tree species are also planned to be grown in the botanical garden. Once the 28 square farm house being built is ready for occupation, probably by July end, the rest of the available plot area around the farm house will be utilised for a planned development to grow about 30 different vegetable species in limited quantities and about 100 different flower species. When the planted trees reach about 10 feet height, all trees will be provided with identifying name plates complete with botanical names as well, to educate the visitors to the farm.
