Do you know what the most expensive vegetable or crop in the world is? Let us learn about this vegetable, which has created numerous opportunities for farmers all over the world and is now making its debut in India.
And if you think about inflation every time you go out to buy vegetables, you might want to skip this, but here’s why you shouldn’t.
A Little Background:
Bihar is located in the Ganga river basin’s river plains. It has fertile alluvial soil and groundwater resources. As a result, Bihar’s agriculture is rich and diverse. The major cereal crops are rice, maize, and wheat. Pulses grown in Bihar include arhar, urad, moong, lentils, and khesari. Bihar is the largest producer of vegetables, with potato, onion, eggplant, and cauliflower dominating. It is the world’s largest lychee producer, the third-largest producer of pineapple, and a significant producer of mango, banana, and guava. Bihar’s other major cash crops are sugar cane and jute.
What Are Hop-Shoots?
Hops are the green female hop plants, that are also cone-shaped flowers. Hops are agricultural products that are the female flowers of a cannabis plant.
They are an extraordinary plant that is native to North America.
However, it is not actually edible in the traditional sense. Before its unusual properties, namely that it has specific antibacterial effects, these plants were considered weeds. Hop shoots extract creates an unfavorable environment for most microorganisms, preventing the growth of harmful bacteria.
Brewer’s yeast is one of the only bacteria that can survive, making it ideal for beer. And the bitter flavor of hops, which is usually unappealing to food and beverage manufacturers, works good to even out the sweetness of the beer.
The Costliest Vegetable:
In Bihar, a farmer is selling his farm-grown ‘Hop Shoots’ for a whopping one lakh rupees per kilogram. Amresh Singh, a farmer from Bihar, grows ‘hop shoots,’ the world’s most expensive crop. Supriya Sahu, an IAS officer, tweeted a news article from the New Indian Express and a photo of the crops.
“One kilogram of this vegetable costs about Rs 1 lakh! World’s costliest vegetable, ‘hop-shoots,’ is being cultivated by Amresh Singh, an enterprising farmer from Bihar, the first one in India. It can be a game-changer for Indian farmers. 💪https://t.co/7pKEYLn2Wa @PMOIndia #hopshoots pic.twitter.com/4FCvVCdG1m“
— Supriya Sahu IAS (@supriyasahuias)- March 31, 2021
38 yrs old Amresh Singh, a farmer from Karamnidh Village in Bihar’s Aurangabad district, is the country’s first to take such a risk. Amresh had bought the saplings from the Indian Vegetable Research Institute in Varanasi. Until recently, hops were a rare sighting in Indian markets, purchased only on special orders, and deliveries were also lengthy.
Hops cultivation is encouraged because it will help farmers grow financially. Hops are the flowers that are also known as strobiles or seed cones, of the Humulus Lupulus plant. They belong to the flowering plants’ Cannabis family.
What Makes It So Special?
According to research, every part of the plant has multiple uses, from the fruit to the stem. It is incredibly beneficial to the beer industry because it acts as a stabilizing agent. It may also be used as a natural treatment for tuberculosis. The antioxidants in the vegetable may help you achieve beautiful skin.
The shoots have also been shown to help with anxiety, insomnia, and depression. Hop shoots are difficult to harvest, which contributes to their high price. They grow haphazardly, and picking them requires hunching for long periods of time. Because they are so small, you must select several shoots to fill one bag.
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