Liquor-laced chocolates, we’re familiar with. But liquor-sprayed vegetable is still virgin ground, one would think. Not quite. For farmers in dozens of villages in the Haveli and Purandar talukas of Pune district, government-approved country liquor (desi daru) and hathpatti (local illegal brew) have been donning the role of key agricultural input for almost one year, a trend that could well sweep a country-made horticulture revolution.

So the next time you see tomatoes with an extra sheen, lush green fenugreek leaves or invitingly purple brinjals at the vegetable mart, remember they could well have been sprayed with country liquor for getting that perky look.

In the rural parts of a district better known for its urban counterpart that is emerging as an IT and automobile manufacturing hub, there is a quiet revolution on. One where the use of alcohol as a crop a yield enhancer and an alternative for costly pesticides is being discovered with no help from agriculture scientists.

“It’s much more effective than many bio-pesticides and plant tonics in the market and its easy availability at a much lower price allows the farmers to use it more frequently. I have found that it has a say in whether the produce is graded in the premium category,” says Damodar Modak of Wadki village, some 20 kms from the city.

The alcohol-induced makeover is being applied chiefly to tomatoes, capsicum, brinjal, ladies finger, cauliflower, onion, coriander leaves, and fenugreek.

“It seems interesting. Using alcohol for better yield seems novel and a study could be carried out,” says Agriculture Minister Balasaheb Thorat, adding that he’ll ask research teams from agriculture colleges to seed details from farmers. And Agriculture Commissioner Dr Krishna Lavhekar said he’s hearing of the method for the first time.

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