A farmer near Ranchi has turned to an unlikely source for agricultural advice, and it has completely changed his fortunes. Suraj Singh, who lives in Itki near Ranchi in Jharkhand, now earns close to ₹8 lakh a year by growing cucumbers on just three acres of land, after using tips he got from ChatGPT. What makes his story stand out is that his cucumbers do not just sell in local markets. They are supplied directly to South India and several other states across the country.
ChatGPT suggested vertical farming
Suraj explains that his educated sons were the ones who typed the question into ChatGPT: how does one grow the best, non bitter cucumbers? Normally, cucumber vines spread across the ground, which leaves the fruit marked and damaged. Following the suggestion, Suraj planted bamboo poles on both sides of his field and strung multiple layers of thread between them to create a vertical structure. This lets the vines climb upward instead of sprawling on the soil. As a result, the cucumbers never touch the ground, none of the fruit gets blemished, and the overall quality stays excellent.
The AI also had a fix for bitterness
Bitterness in cucumbers is usually caused by insufficient watering, another detail Suraj learned from ChatGPT. Acting on that advice, he now irrigates his field at least three times a day. With enough water reaching the plants, not a single cucumber from his field turns out bitter, and Suraj is confident enough to openly guarantee and challenge anyone on this claim.
A ton of cucumbers every other day, traders come from other states
The quality is good enough that traders from other states contact Suraj directly. His field yields close to one ton, that is 1000 kilograms, of cucumbers every alternate day. Because the produce is unblemished and sweet, it sells quickly in the market and fetches him a good price.
Rotten cow dung and organic manure do the real work
Suraj relies entirely on organic methods instead of chemical fertilisers. To keep the soil fertile and supply plants with the nutrients they need, he prepares his own special organic mixture. He blends rotten cow dung manure with organic medicines, then adds household kitchen waste, vermicompost and azolla to the same mix. This combination is left to decompose for about 15 days before it is finally applied to the fields.
Credit goes to his sons and ChatGPT
Suraj credits this entire success to his sons and to ChatGPT. He says that if artificial intelligence is working in every field today, there is no reason it should not work in farming too. His sons are educated, he says, and they keep bringing him fresh farming tips by running ChatGPT, and the best part is that every single one of those tips has worked 100 percent in the field.
