Belagavi: A grape farmer in Belagavi district who was fed up with crows attacking his crop has installed ultrasonic solar poles on his three acres of vineyard to keep away birds, wolves other animals. It has worked, he says.
Eshawar Akki, from Suttati village in Athani taluk, and other farmers nearby had to keep a labourer to watch the crop and pay him Rs 300 a day for it.
Akki was discussing this problem with friends one day. One of his friends suggested that he should install an ultrasonic sound solar pole in the grape field which could repel birds and, perhaps, save him the labour cost.
Akki went to market, got a solar pole and a device that emits ultrasonic waves.
Connecting the device to the solar pole would supply electricity to the device. Akki tried the device for three months and saw the results.
He said: “We have faced problems because of the birds and wolves day and night. The animals eat the grapes. We already have to spend a lot on the grapes that require good pesticides, water and we ned power supply. Over that, we had to spend Rs 300 a day to guard our crops.”
He said the solar pole had “worked for me and saved me. I cost me Rs 5,000. Now everyone has been coming to my field to see how it works.”
Athani has nearly 12,000 hectares of vineyard. “Many of my farmer friends have installed the solar pole now,” Akki said. “We request to government to provide this devise free to us. That would helpful,” he said.