Are you someone, who thinks farming is limited only to fields, seeds & edible produce? Then it’s time for you to think again. There are various unconventional farming ideas that are gaining popularity; one of them is Pearl Farming. It is one of the best aquaculture businesses in India.
From cultivating pearls in ponds to cement tubs to even fish tank, there are various methods that one can use for this type of Farming.
The method by which you can grow pearls at home in bucket or small tanks is called Recirculating Aquaculture System. This system operates by filtering water from fish tanks so it can be reused within the tank.
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In the first step towards starting Pearl Farming, you will have to get the water tested to understand if itssuited for pearl cultivation. One can get the water tested in a government laboratory. This will help you to ascertain whether the mussels will survive that water or not.
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Once this is done, one must take a professional training at any of the institutes offering the pearl farming training course.CIFA is a the most prominent among them. This will help you learn the correct technique to harvest the pearls.
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The most favorable season for pearl cultivation is the time autumn i.e. October to December. The farmer will have to procure Oysters/ mussels from local ponds or other water bodies or even purchase them.
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On average, a mussel can hold between 2-8 pearls, if it is small. And if the mussel is of large size, then up to 28 pearls. After procuring the mussel they are kept in a critical care unit for 4-6 days and once the health of mussels is ascertained the same is shifted to the fish tank after a minor operation to insert some kind of pearls in the mussels. These oysters are kept in nylon bags for 10 days on antibiotic and natural feed.
How Long Does it take to form pearls?
It takes at least 6 months for a pearl to form. However, pearls are typically left for at least a year to grow to a decent size.
Home Set up for Pearl Farming:
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If you are starting at home, you will need a simple setup of minimum two fish tanks to begin with. The tanks have to be placed one over the other, such that water from the above tank flows into the tank below. This will require you to drill a hole in the Tank being placed on Top.
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The tanks will be fitted with an air pump, one venturi pump, which regulates the water flow and one water pump to regulate the water temperature.
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Once all these parts have been fixed, the system should be run for seven consecutive days, a few hours in the morning and few hours in the evening.
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The tank dimensions could be as follows – 3 feet in length, 2.5 feet in width, and 1.5 feet in depth. In a set-up of this size, Jitender says that almost 50 mussels can be kept in one tank.
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Make sure that the algae being given to the mussels are of high quality as that will have a bearing on the quality of the pearl produced. Vitamins and minerals are also given to the mussels.
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All these will not cost you more than Rs 20k which is good investment amount for such a lucrative business.
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Please note: Do check for all licensing requirements if you intend to cultivate pearls for commercial purposes.
Pearl Farming Cost Profit Analysis:
A single oyster costs around 20 to 30 rupees. The price of one mm to 20 mm oyster pearl in the market is around Rs.300 to Rs 1500. Nowadays designer beads are being liked very much, which get a good price in the market. Much better money can be earned by exporting pearls in foreign markets than Indian market.
After removing the pearl from the oyster, the oyster can also be sold in the market. Many decorative items are made of oysters. The work of extracting perfume oil from oysters in Kannauj is also done on a large scale. Due to which oysters can also be sold in the local market immediately. The water of rivers and ponds is also purified by oysters so that the problem of water pollution can be dealt with to a great extent.
