Opium is cultivated for narcotics. Its plant is one meter high, stem green, leaf oblong and flowers are white, purple or blood colored, beautiful bowl-shaped and wide in diameter. The fruits on its plants start coming soon after the flowers fall, whose shape is like a pomegranate with a diameter of one inch. Its fruit is called Doda, then it bursts itself, and the peel of the fruit is called Posh. Inside these dodo are small, sweet granular seeds with a round shape of white colour. They are also commonly called poppy seeds. Opium becomes soft when there is moisture. Its interior is dark brown and shiny, which is dark brown to black on the outside. Its smell is strong, and its taste is pungent.

When opium is burnt, there is no smoke, nor any ash, but it dissolves easily in water. Since opium is a narcotic substance, permission has to be taken from the Narcotics Department before its cultivation, after which you can easily cultivate opium without any restrictions keeping in mind some terms and conditions.

Opium Cultivation in india

Opium is cultivated in a few countries all over the world. It is grown mainly in Afghanistan, due to which 85% of opium is produced in Afghanistan alone. Opium is cultivated in only a few states of India. Since the production of opium in India is completely under the control of the government, so in the last year 2020-21, the production of opium in the states of Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh was about 315 tonnes. For its cultivation Massey 9500 tractor model is best for accomplishing farming tasks. 

Land and Climate

Opium can be cultivated in any type of soil. Deep black soil with sufficient organic matter whose P.H. The value should be around 7 and opium has not been cultivated there in the last 5 to 6 years. Apart from this, the field should not be waterlogged. Poppy plants are of temperate climate, they need 20 to 25 degree temperature.

Opium Cultivation licence

Before cultivating opium, you have to get approval from the government. These licences are issued for cultivation at certain places. A person cultivating opium can cultivate opium only after fulfilling all the conditions as per the licence. Apart from this, how much land he can cultivate, this thing also has to be decided in advance. Opium cultivation licences are issued by the Ministry of Finance of India. 

Irrigation

Poppy plants need more irrigation. Therefore, the first irrigation is given after planting the seeds. After this the seeds have to be watered at an interval of 7 to 10 days. Give water at an interval of 12 to 15 days at the time of seed germination. Irrigation must be done once a week before plucking the dodo on the plants. Irrigate two to three days after sown fruit in light soil, and do not irrigate at all after sown in heavy soil. Irrigation by drip method is quite suitable. Moreover, for better irrigation purposes Massey 1035 is best for farmers. 

Harvesting 

95 to 115 days after sowing seeds on poppy plants start flowering. Shortly after flowering, the flowers start falling off, and after 15 to 20 days the buds start coming out on these plants. Opium plants are harvested several times. In the evening on the dodo on the plants, an incision is made in the middle, due to which the liquid starts coming out of the plant, and this fluid is left to drain.

Yield 

Talking about the cost in the cultivation of opium, about 7 to 8 kg of seeds are required in one hectare of field, which is also not very expensive. About 50 to 60 kg of opium latex is obtained from one hectare of field. 

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