After seven long years, farmers Abhinav Gangumalla and Renu Rao managed to harvest the glass gem corn which is native to North America at their farm in Hyderabad.
The duo was trying to crack the process since 2013, but has now managed to grow this rare species of corn. Since 2013, the duo was using trial and error to crack the production process of glass gem corn. They have also managed to harvest strawberry corn and purple corn.
Abhinav Gangumalla, who did his BTech in civil engineering from Gitam University in Visakhapatnam, told that he was not happy with the corporate rat-race and therefore he decided to pursue sustainable farming.
Abhinav, who is now also a wellness coach, opened a store called 'Hyderabad Goes Green' in 2010. Then, in 2014, his partner Renu Rao and he bought 4.5 acres of land to practice sustainable agriculture.
Their farm -called 'Beyond Organic'- is known for conserving native seeds and growing new varieties in a seasonal manner. This is where this corn variety was harvested. Stating that all the three varieties of corn were grown in sustainable ways, Abhinav said, "I was just short of tears when I finally saw the glass gem corn because we worked hard for it for seven years. Although we wanted to grow this beautiful corn, we failed consistently."
"It was grown like normal corn but by using sustainable practices at the farm. After it was harvested, we cooked it and surprisingly, the colour remained," added Abhinay. He added that the glass gem corn tasted more authentic and also looked more beautiful with crystals adorning the crop.
