Wayanad: Floating gardens, floral structures, more than 800 varieties of roses spread over 2.5 acres of land, dancing fountains, illuminated walkways, decorated gates, a rock garden with more than 50 varieties of cacti... the eighth edition of Pooppoli, the 15-day long international flower show, has proved to be a festival of colours. The show, which will end on Monday (January 15), has already attracted over 1 lakh visitors from Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, and the neighbouring districts of Wayanad

Jointly organised by the Kerala Agricultural University and the Department of Agriculture Development and Farmers’ Welfare at the Regional Agriculture Research Station (RARS), Ambalavayal, near here, a wide variety of flowering plants includes Chrysanthemums, Aster, Celosia, Petunia, Dianthus, Phlox, Gladiolus, Calla Lily, Kalanchoe, Snapdragon and Chinese Aster are on display. The photo points and selfie spots have also attracted many visitors, the organisers said.

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Sreeram Vishnumoorthy, PRO of Pooppoli at RARS, said the event has become part travel calendar of many tourists. “The tourism department is also promoting the event by clubbing various programmes in neighbouring areas along with the show,” he said. KSRTC has been operating 20 Pooppoli special package services from neighbouring districts of Kannur, Malappuram Kozhikode, and Thiruvananthapuram. “Apart from domestic visitors, we had tourists from Brazil, Mali and the USA,” he added.

Along with the flower show, over 100 stalls sell agricultural implements including seeds, manures, plants, equipment and other household items. “With countless seminars and lecture sessions, Pooppoli has metamorphosed into an annual meeting ground for farmers, agricultural experts and agri-entrepreneurs to discuss the challenges faced by the sector. The event also helps them get acquainted with the global trends in agriculture including the inventions in value addition techniques, farm care products, sharing of information and research and technological enhancements,” said Varun Menon, an official of the Tea Board of India.

Apart from traders, many small-scale rural agri-entrepreneurs and farmer-entrepreneurs also have set up stalls to sell their products such as pickles, fruit juices, snacks, home-made green tea, bio-fertilisers and bio-pesticides, and organic farm produce. “When Pooppoli goes global, rural players like us also would get global visibility,” said P K Kumaran who was here with his stall of unique tea products produced through natural farming methods.

Inaugurated by state agriculture minister P Prasad, on January 1, the show collected Rs 43 lakh from ticket sales alone (till January 10). Revenue Minister K Rajan will inaugurate the valedictory ceremony on Monday. Though the Pooppoli festival will end officially tomorrow, flowers and colours will remain for visitors for a few more days, organisers said.

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