(Article by Anish Kshatriya)
NASHIK: As the barren empty lands, once yellow, have started to turn green, marking the start of monsoon, so have the plant nurseries in the city. Colourful flowers bloom in all their glory, and rich ripe fruits are visible shining on plants. Moreover, people nowadays are also seen to be more conservative towards the environment and hence; have started buying more plants.
Covid has made life difficult for all of us, and the same is true with nurseries all across the town. Some nurseries reported slower growth, while some an increased growth rate. Deshdoot Times spoke to a few nurseries to understand the impact of Covid-19 on nurseries better.
Om Dhandai Nursery told us about a few plants that are sold the most, namely Jaswand, Rose, Morning Glory & Mary Gold, just to name a few. An interesting fact noticed was that youngsters among the 18-25 age group bought plants to gift their friends on special occasions, which is quite a welcome change.
Different species of snake & zamia plants are also being sold as they produce more oxygen which is in great demand among consumers because of Covid-19. This year, however, scattered rainfall has harmed the development of the soil, especially red.
Hirvepunya Nursery told us that due to Covid, their sale has been affected up to 60-70%. The medical plants of the nursery, their specialised field, were not at all sold & thus had to bear huge losses in business. Fruit plants which bloom in this season like pomegranate, cucumber, tomato, etc., have decent sales, but even their growth has been affected due to slightly uneven rainfall.
They also told us that they opted for advertisements due to low sales. The condition of nurseries can only improve with satisfactory rainfall at the expected time. Otherwise, the nursery field of the district will be hit severely this year.
