Gannoruwa Agro Technology Park – alluring edible landscaping

By Arundathie Abeysinghe

Situated in the salubrious climate of Gannoruwa in Peradeniya about four kilometers from Kandy City and bounded by the *Mahaweli River on three sides with an elevation of about 473 meters above sea level, *Gannoruwa Agro Technology Park is a novel concept in agriculture.

Located in close proximity to world renowned Peradeniya Botanical Gardens, the Park provides glimpses of almost all crops and herbs in Sri Lanka displayed in an aesthetically pleasing manner.

The Park is situated on both sides of the Gannoruwa Road with each side comprising different sections; diverse local plant species, model home garden with an arched entrance of granadilla (Passiflora quadrangularis) vines, a tissue culture division as well as a plant diseases section with information about different plant diseases and how to treat them. The Park provides information on traditional as well as modern methods of agriculture including crop cultivation.

This agro technology park has aesthetically beautiful edible landscaping with tropical crops as well as separate areas demarcated for paddy, vegetables, fruits, dry zone crops, root crops and floriculture.

Vegetable garden including leafy vegetable garden and citrus garden, roots and tuber crops, environmental friendly integrated farming, banana garden, plant genetic resources, gliricidia plantation (Gliricidia sepium), bee-keeping section, demonstration of traditional tank (wewa) culture, mushroom house, *Jak Garden as well as an indigenous rice garden (diverse traditional rice varieties are grown here) are some of the areas visitors can see in the Park.

Diverse vegetable plants blend well with cactus plants and the row of dragon fruit trees adding splendor to the Park, a demonstration of how different varieties could be grown together.

The Park is designed well providing sunlight and wind throughout the day, a boon to fine cultivation.

The majority of plants in the Park are grown in gunny bags, discarded barrels or bins, a novel concept of agriculture demonstrating how crops could be grown in a limited space. 

The Park has around 15 instructors to provide guidance and instructions to visitors including school children about plants, agricultural methods as well as prevention and treatment of plant diseases.

Some plants are grown according to hydroponics technique, a novel concept of agriculture where a liquid base is used instead of planting on soil.

Established in 2004 and maintained by the Department of Agriculture, the Park is an agricultural knowledge hub set up with the objectives of capacity building of stakeholders of agriculture as well as information dissemination mechanism for farmers, school children and the general public.

There is a signboard at the entrance to the Park with a map numbered with each section and visitors are provided flyers with a description of each section of the Park. Visitors who prefer to see the Park on their own can make use of the flyer.

The total area of the park is two square kilometers.

Gannoruwa Agro Technology Park is a very popular place among farmers, school children and the general public interested in farming, novel concepts of agriculture and home gardening.

Location: Gannoruwa Road, Kandy

• Gannoruwa – Situated about four kilometers from Kandy City and about one kilometer from Peradeniya, Gannoruwa was the location of the ‘Battle of Gannoruwa’ fought between Sinhalese forces (Sinhalese King’s Army) and Portuguese in 1638.
• Jak – Widely found in tropical countries such as Sri Lanka, India and Bangladesh, jak tree, also spelt as jack tree (Artocarpus heterophyllus) bears the largest fruit of all trees weighing around 50 kilograms. A mature jak tree produces around 200 – 500 fruits per year. Fleshy petals of the fruits are eaten, boiled or cooked as a curry, whereas the ripe fruit is eaten as a dessert.
• Mahaweli River – Sri Lanka’s longest river, 335 kilometers in length with a drainage basin of 10,448km2.