Karnataka - Bellary   

Smiles turn into a scowl as grapes perish in rain

BELLARY: The smiles on the faces of grape growers in Hagari Bommanahalli taluk have turned to a scowl as the ready-to-harvest crop perished following the untimely rain that lashed the district for over a week.

Of the area of around 500 acres on which grapes were taken up, the crop in about 280 acres have perished. Left with no alternative, the grape growers have been dumping the perished grapes in garbage bins.

The Horticulture Department has put the loss of grape crop at Rs. 9 crore.

“We never expected rain in this part of the year. Due to the untimely rain, grapes started perishing in the plant itself.

As it was unfit for consumption and as it started emanating bad odour, we were forced to dump it in the garbage.

On an average, the loss is around Rs. 3 lakh per acre in domestic market and Rs. 3.5 lakh per acre in the export market,” Shekarappa, a grape grower in Bachigondanahalli village in the taluk, told The Hindu.

Hagari Bommnahalli is the only taluk in the district where grapes are being raised in a few villages, including Bachigondanahalli, Hagari Kyadagihal, Uppinayakanahalli, Marabbihal, Ankasamudra, for the past three years.

Since last year, some farmers have begun exporting through an agent in Pune. This year, a group of progressive farmers had ventured to take up direct exporting by installing a processing unit with cold storage facilities.

Subbarao, an exporter, says, “Grapes grown in about 100 acres of land were being exported. To facilitate export, we built a cold storage spending around Rs. 2 crore. This season we could send only three containers (consisting of 15 tonnes each) and the rest perished in rain. The huge expenditure incurred by us is a cause of worry.”

C. Ramachandra, Deputy Director of Horticulture, here said that due to the untimely rain, several horticultural crops, including chilli, pomegranate, papaya, banana, grapes, watermelon, mango and onion, had suffered loss. However, grape growers had suffered a major loss.

Around 2,250 tonnes of grapes, grown in 112.5 hectares of land in Hagari Bommanahalli taluk, had perished and the loss was estimated at Rs. 9 crore, he said and added that in the remaining areas, the plants were new.

Due to the rain, chilli crop has suffered a fungus attack, while mango fruit and flowers have begun falling.

Pomegranate has developed black dots due to the sudden change in the weather condition and onion, which was left for seeds, has been affected. Banana plants have got dislodged.

In a report sent to the Director of Horticulture, Dr. Ramachandra has put the loss of horticultural crop in about 354 hectares the seven taluks of the district, involving 1,053 farmers, at Rs. 17.13 crore.

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Smiles turn into a scowl as grapes perish in rain

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