Nandi Hills Silk Sericulture and Floriculture of Chikkaballapur

Chikkaballapur district, at the foot of the Nandi Hills, is one of Karnataka's major flower cultivation regions, producing roses, gerbera, carnations, and chrysanthemums for Bengaluru's wholesale flower market and export. The cool nights at the Nandi Hills elevation and the district's proximity to the city created ideal conditions for commercial floriculture from the 1990s. Alongside flowers, traditional sericulture has been practised in the district's villages for over a century, with mulberry cultivation integrated into the mixed farming system. The district's groundwater, accessed through borewells, supports intensive irrigation of both flowers and mulberry. Chikkaballapur's flower growers' cooperatives manage cold chain logistics to deliver fresh blooms to Bengaluru markets before dawn.