ગુજરાતી
English
Hazarigal Ka Gota – Big Earnings
Yellow Gold
More income from investing in gold
Gold-like income in marigold cultivation
Dilip Patel
Ahmedabad, 03 June 2025
On hearing the name of the flower, we imagine its fragrance and appearance. Everyone has seen the Madhuvan of flowers. Flower fields are increasing. It is estimated that 30 thousand farmers are cultivating marigold in 25 thousand acres in Gujarat.
There is a sea of fragrance that attracts the mind in flower cultivation. One such flower that is easily available is the Galgota flower.
Cultivation
If any flower is available throughout the year, then it is only Galgota. Because Galgota can be grown in three seasons – winter, summer and rainy.
Galgota has the ability to adapt to any soil and climate. And it can be cultivated throughout the year. For production, well-drained loamy soil with pH value between 7.0 to 7.6 is considered good. After deep plowing, mix 15-20 tonnes of rotten cow dung or manure in the soil and apply six bags of urea, 10 bags of single super phosphate and three bags of potash per hectare. Divide urea into three equal parts and apply full quantity of single super phosphate and potash at the time of planting. After 30 to 45 days of planting, apply the second and third doses of urea between the rows around the plants. Sunlight is very important for cultivation. Organic fertilizers like Azotobacter, Azospirillum etc. should be used instead of chemicals. The cost is also reduced by using organic fertilizers. Uses Galgota is being used a lot in religious worship, business, home decoration, weddings, car decoration. Its use is increasing in festivals like buying a new vehicle, Chopra Puja, Havan, Navratri, Diwali. Galgota flowers are present in welcoming guests or in the last journey.
Galgota flower is called ‘marigold’ in English. Decoration is incomplete without Galgota like decoration of gold jewellery.
Galgota also has many medicinal properties, so there is a good demand for its crop in the medicinal business and beauty manufacturing companies.
Demand
It is in demand from Navratri to Diwali and weddings.
Rasik Patel
Rasik Patel and his son Yogesh, owners of 30 bighas of land in Pardhol village of Daskroi taluka of Ahmedabad district, have been traditionally cultivating vegetables, peanuts and flowers for 30 years.
Galgota flowers are cultivated in 2 bighas of land. Yogesh Patel says that we cultivate Galgota, which is known as Hazarigal, twice a year. It takes two months less hard work, less water, less fertilizer and less disease.
Seeds
Rasik Calcutta keeps planting two varieties of Galgota flowers, yellow and saffron, in his five-bigha field. He prepares his own seeds from Galgota. Or he orders cuttings and plants from nurseries in Bengaluru and Pune. Nurseries can also prepare them themselves. About 600-800 grams of seeds are required for one acre of land.
Sowing should be done from mid-June to mid-July in the rainy season. In winter, sowing should be completed from mid-September to mid-October. Seeds are sown in a nursery bed of 3×1 meter size. Using trays gives good results. Cow dung, manure and soil or coco peat are used in it.
It takes about 5 to 10 days for the seeds to germinate and the plants are ready for planting in 15 to 20 days. Usually, the price of one plant can be 4 to 10 rupees.
Flower Varieties
1-
Pusa Narangi variety starts flowering 123-136 days after sowing. The flower is red-orange in colour and 7 to 8 cm in length. And the yield is up to 35 tonnes per hectare.
2 –
Pusa Basanti variety is ready in 135 to 145 days. The flower is yellow in colour and 6 to 9 cm in diameter.
3 –
African Galgota is a large, dense yellow, golden yellow to orange coloured plant which flowers throughout the year. It starts flowering 90-100 days after sowing. The height of the plant is 75-85 cm.
4 –
French Marigold flowers 75-85 days after sowing. The plants are about 1 meter tall with many branches. The flowers are round. They have many petals and are yellow and orange in colour. The diameter of large flowers is 7-8 cm.
Planting
With drip irrigation and loose watering, the flower crop is ready in two to two and a half months. Marigold is of two types, one is French marigold and the other is African marigold.
African marigold should be planted at a distance of 45 cm in the evening. 50 to 60 thousand plants will be needed to plant one hectare.
Sow French marigold at a distance of 25 cm. One and a half to two lakh plants are needed per hectare.
Irrigation
Irrigate immediately after planting. Irrigation depends on the weather. Plants do not need much moisture. If the drainage is good, then irrigation should be done at an interval of 7-8 days in summer and 11-14 days in winter. The stems of the Galgota plant are weak, so it is necessary to support it and it is also necessary to add soil from time to time.
Treatment
Cow urine and manure and medicine are sprayed to prevent diseases in plants or flowers. If water drainage and weed control is done on time, the problem of pests and diseases is reduced. Aphids can affect the crop. Leaf curl or powdery mildew can occur. Animals like deer and pigs also do not bother. By raising bees, production can be increased by 25 percent and honey income can be earned. Other crops from Hazari Gold
Pests that occur in the crop can be prevented. Therefore, diseases in other crops are less. Lalani says if you remove the flower plants only after they are fully bloomed.
EA. The work of plucking flowers is done early in the morning or in the cool evening air. They are packed neatly in bamboo baskets and sent to the market. Before plucking the flowers, the field should be lightly irrigated, so that the flowers remain fresh. After harvesting, cover the flowers with paper. So that their moisture does not decrease.
The yield of flowers in one acre of field is up to 3 quintals per week.
Production
250 to 300 maunds of Galgota flowers are obtained from one bigha. 4 kg of flowers can be obtained from 1 plant.
Market
He says that we sell the flowers directly in the Ahmedabad flower market. Double income can be obtained from the cultivation of Galgota at low cost. There is never a loss in this farming. Due to high demand of Galgota in Shravan, Navratri and Diwali, farmers are getting good income.
Manure
The dried plants that remain after plucking the flowers are used as manure in the same soil.
Income
Marigold earns more than investment in gold in 90 days. The price of one kg is 30-50 rupees. Due to easy sale, good profit is obtained in less time. Income of 80 thousand to 1 lakh rupees is earned in a season. It is a cash crop and more production is obtained at low cost. After deducting the cost of cultivation, there is additional double income. Due to continuous daily income, there is a lot of difference in the social standard of living. Hazarigal gives thousands of times profit in a short time. Rameshbhai believes so.
Galgota cultivation can give 4 times profit as compared to the cost.
Dahod farmers are beating Ahmedabad
Ahmedabad district is at the forefront in Galgota production in the state. In 2020, the government had announced that Ahmedabad district has been at the forefront of Galgota cultivation for three years in terms of production and area. Most of the roses and Galgota are cultivated in Daskroi and Dholka talukas. In terms of production and area, it has been in the first row in the entire state. Galgota was cultivated in an area of 1 thousand hectares. District Horticulture Director JR Patel had announced in 2020 that the area of flower cultivation in Gujarat is about 20300 hectares. Out of this, 1 lakh 95 thousand metric tonnes of flowers were harvested. Now in 2023-24, the situation has completely changed. Most marigold is harvested in Dahod. In Dahod, 11593 tonnes of marigold is harvested in 1164 hectares. Which is the highest in the whole of Gujarat. An official of the Horticulture Department of the Agriculture Department said. The best productivity in Gujarat is 10.36 tonnes in Sabarkantha, 10.27 tonnes in Morbi, 10.11 tonnes in Banaskantha, 10.18 tonnes in Anand, 10.13 tonnes in Dang and 10 tonnes per hectare in Surat. Horticulture department official gave information.
Marigold in Gujarat
All types of flowers are cultivated in 21-22 thousand hectares in Gujarat. In which marigold is cultivated in 50 percent of the fields. Which is an area of 10 thousand hectares. It is estimated that 30 thousand farmers of 25 thousand acres are cultivating marigold.
Also, the production of all types of flowers in Gujarat is 2 lakh tonnes. In which the production of marigold flowers is 87 to 90 thousand tonnes. 47-50 percent of the total flowers are marigold flowers. Rose flowers ripen 41 to 42 thousand tonnes per year. This was said by the Horticulture Director’s Office.
Other Benefits of Galgota
The seeds contain 24 percent protein and 20 percent oil. They contain alkaloids. The roots contain bithionyl and a little terthionyl. These compounds show anthelmintic activity. The root extract kills worm eggs.
The plant extract is used in arthritis, colds and respiratory inflammation. The root extract has laxative properties. The leaves are used in kidney problems and muscle pain. It is applied to burns and gums. The juice of the leaves is useful in earache. The leaf-flower extract is anthelmintic, diuretic and beneficial for the stomach. The flowers are used in the treatment of eye diseases and ulcers.
It is a native species of South America. It grows in barren lands or dry places or at high altitudes.
The oil has a pleasant aroma. A volatile oil is produced. The carbonyl compound in this oil is the most abundant and is considered to be tagetone. It is poisonous due to the presence of tagetone and hence its use is restricted to the perfume industry only.
It has antiviral effect against disease viruses. Since the root contains butyl thionyl derivatives, it has anthelmintic properties. When grown in tobacco fields, the incidence of root nodule disease caused by wireworm is reduced. This plant gives a strong anthelmintic effect and repels blowflies. It is poisonous to cows. It spoils milk and butter. The sap of the plant is irritating to eyes and skin.
