California grape variety makes debut on North Karnataka farms

Vijayapura: Known for its drought-prone conditions and low rainfall for over a century, Vijayapura district is witnessing a quiet shift in farming practices with farmers experimenting with a grape variety developed in California.The Krishnaveni Farmers Producers Organisation (FPO) in Tikota, in collaboration with Sahyadri Farms of Nashik, Maharashtra, has taken up cultivation of the Arra-36 grape variety on 100 acres across Vijayapura, Belagavi, Gadag and Kalaburagi districts. There are plans to scale up cultivation to 1,000 acres in the coming years.Sandeep Patil, a key member of the Krishnaveni FPO, said 15 farmers have planted the crop and are expecting their first harvest by February 2027. "We are expecting a yield of 8-10 tonnes per acre in the first year. Arra-36 is a hybrid variety developed to cope with climate change. It does not face problems during flowering, unlike traditional varieties, and is resistant to cracking during rainfall," he told TOI.He added that the grapes naturally grow up to 27 mm in size, whereas traditional varieties require growth stimulants to achieve comparable size. "This makes Arra-36 suitable for export," he said.Another FPO member, Sachin Patil, said the variety was introduced to North Karnataka after a successful experiment in raisin production at Tikota. "Vilasrao Shinde, head of Sahyadri Farms, brought this patented variety from California to Nashik and has grown it successfully there. With his guidance, we decided to test it in the North Karnataka region," he said.The farmers had approached Vijayapura district minister MB Patil around one-and-a-half years ago with a proposal to process wet Arra-36 grapes locally. "He supported the initiative by facilitating a processing unit. We also assessed the suitability of the regional climate and obtained good-quality raisins after a 30-day processing cycle," Sachin Patil said, adding that Vijayapura's climate proved more favourable for raisin-making than Nashik's.Arra-36 grapes have a shelf life of up to six months, compared to around 10 days for traditional varieties. The crop was planted eight to ten months ago on the initial 100 acres.Minister MB Patil said the late saint Siddeshwar Swamiji often remarked that Vijayapura could become ‘California' with just a little water. "With irrigation projects implemented during our tenure between 2013 and 2018, farmers are now experimenting and achieving success. The Arra-36 grape is one such example," he said.Recently, a group of Arra-36 growers met the minister and offered him grapes sourced from Nashik, expressing their gratitude for the support extended to the initiative.