Abstract

Potato growing in the Nilgiris is over a century old. Except for a few persons who grow potatoes on a large scale employing hired labour, potato growing is chiefly confined to the Badagas who form the bulk of the population in the Hills. They generally put their own labour and cultivate small areas. In their holdings near the village, forking of the land is done by the male members and practically all other operations are done by the female members of the family. For cultivation of large areas away from the village, groups of 4 to 20 persons according to the extent of the land, take up joint cultivation. In case of need, men and women coolies are also employed. This is very common in bringing into cultivation new jungle land. This involves considerable labour and expense, but, if conditions are favour- able, bumper crops are obtained from such new lands.

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