14 May,2021 05:13 AM IST | Mumbai | Vinod Kumar Menon
The discarded yellow and spongy tomatoes at a farm in Maharashtra
As Covid-19 continues to upend lives, another virus is back wreaking havoc among tomato growers in Satara, Ahmednagar and Pune. Farmers say their otherwise red, juicy crop has turned yellow and spongy despite following all guidelines on testing, seeds and pest control given by the ICAR-Indian Institute of Horticultural Research. Last year, too, the virus had attacked tomato plants in Maharashtra.
Dr Reddy inspects tomato crop in Maharashtra in February
Kiran Waman from Sangamner said he has been growing tomatoes on a 1.5-acre farm for the past five years but had never faced such a problem. Waman, who has done BSc (Agriculture), told mid-day, "I had just 1 per cent wastage in the first year. However, this season, when I harvested on January 11 and January 25, nearly 40 per cent of my produce was a waste." Apart from turning yellow, the size has also been a problem, he said.
Blaming IIHR, Bengaluru, Waman said, "They [scientists] visit the farm, and all they do is blame the farmer." Waman said he had invested Rs 1.25 lakh, but was forced to sell tomatoes for Rs 3 a kilo. "I'm not even making Rs 30,000 to Rs 40,000, forget recovering my investments. If the situation continues like this, it will be difficult to survive in the coming seasons."
Ajit Korde, 33, from Mirewadi of Satara district said he had grown the staple on 1.5 acre and 1.25 acres fields. He also cultivates sugarcane over 40 acres and had ploughed some of the earnings on tomatoes. Last month, Korde noticed his tomatoes getting deformed, discoloured and spongy. "Nearly 20 to 25 tonnes of my produce which was ready for harvesting had to be thrown away." Korde said he cultivated the land in February first and second weeks and got the leaves tested for nutrients. "Despite precautions, almost 70 per cent of the crop got infected. I have to bear the losses since we do not even have insurance cover for horticulture products."
Praveen Gosavi, agriculture officer from Akole taluka in Ahmednagar, said, "Just two days ago, I received a call from a farmer from Aghad village complaining that five to six farmers had to throw most of their crop because of the disease. This season, the number of tomato growers has come down as many followed IIHR guidelines and could minimise loss," he said.
Gosavi said IIHR scientists had visited Sangamner in February and had explained that the problem was due to overlapping of wheat and tomato cultivation. "This results in amphid virus jumping from wheat to tomatoes. We had asked the farmers to wait till March."
A top state Agricultural department official said fewer farmers have been affected this time compared to last year. "It is a fact that it is not a practical solution for all farmers to have reflecting silver mulch fixed as it is expensive and would increase the cost of production. We have learnt that farmers compete to get higher rates and aim to hit the market before others. They do harvest early and hence the virus attack as it comes from wheat," said the official.
On insurance support, the official said, "The state government has been sent proposals for same, and the government needs to decide on it."
Dr Krishna Reddy, who heads the Division of Crop Protection department at ICAR-IIHR, said he visited Pune, Nashik and Sangamner in February. "I had addressed nearly 200 farmers, explaining to them the source of the virus and preventive steps to be taken. Some farmers blamed the seeds, but it was proved to them that the seeds were good. We also pointed out to them where they were missing."
Dr Reddy said they had tested a few samples from Satara and Ahmednagar and found them to be infected with two to three viruses - cucumber mosaic virus, groundnut bud necrosis virus and tomato chlorosis virus. "One of the factors for the extensive spread could be due to change in climate and cultivation time," he said.
The expert said, "I had advised the farmers to plant maize around tomato fields and carry out a regular spray of insecticides at weekly intervals until the fruit sets. The main virus which is affecting the fruit quality is cucumber mosaic virus."
>> The virus may be due to excessive application of nitrogenous fertilizers, said ICAR Dy Director-General Dr Anand Kumar Singh, attached to the Ministry of Agriculture, Delhi. He said they haven't had specific complaints from Maharashtra so far. "It could also be due to ambient heat in these areas of Maharashtra where the temperature ranges between 38 and 40 degrees Celsius. The probability of tomatoes getting infected can be only known when the fruit is ready, otherwise, the plant is looking healthy."
>> Dr Singh said, "The ICAR-IIHR scientists have already given some recommendations to the Agriculture department in Maharashtra last year and the possibility of those guidelines not being adhered to properly by the farmers at ground level will also need to be looked at. The least the farmers can do for the coming season is that they should, if possible, shift the land of tomato cultivation and observe if the virus continues to impact the fruit or not."
>> On insurance for horticulture produce, Dr Singh said it could be handled by the state government. Asked if this was only limited to Maharashtra, he said, "We have been receiving concerns from Madhya Pradesh and Karnataka where they are facing a scarcity of storage spaces for tomatoes due to which the product is getting affected adversely."
