Curl leaf virus forces Rajpur farmers to destroy chilli crop
Barwani: Driven to distress after seeing their chilli crops affected by curl leaf virus , farmers in six villages of Rajpur sub-division uprooted their yields on Sunday.
A despaired Rajpur farmer Shiv Shankar Patel, who owns a field at Salkheda village, said that due to excess rain and virus had destroyed his chilli crops sown in two acres.
He uprooted the crops and threw them away in order to avoid further loss.
“I have spent Rs 1.7 lakh in sowing and growing chilli crops on my land. I was expecting to reap Rs 2 lakh profit,” Patel told TOI.
Condition of all chilli farmers in the six villages is no different. Another farmer Mansharam Kushwah said that he was hoping the fruit of chilli to grow up to length of 20cm. But after one and a half inch they became infected and finally ruined.
Grappling with irreparable damage after uprooting their chilli crops, farmers are now pinning hopes on maize crops. A farmer has started preparing his field for sowing maize. He said that farmers had invested in sowing, fertilizers, insecticides and pesticides and uprooting infected crops. But survey of losses was yet to be conducted. However, district administration said that survey was conducted in the district. “11000 farmers in Barwani have been identified for loss of various crops. Compensation will be given to them accordingly. Chilli farmers have also been identified,” Barwani collector Amit Tomar told TOI.
“I have spent Rs 1.7 lakh in sowing and growing chilli crops on my land. I was expecting to reap Rs 2 lakh profit,” Patel told TOI.
Condition of all chilli farmers in the six villages is no different. Another farmer Mansharam Kushwah said that he was hoping the fruit of chilli to grow up to length of 20cm. But after one and a half inch they became infected and finally ruined.
Grappling with irreparable damage after uprooting their chilli crops, farmers are now pinning hopes on maize crops. A farmer has started preparing his field for sowing maize. He said that farmers had invested in sowing, fertilizers, insecticides and pesticides and uprooting infected crops. But survey of losses was yet to be conducted. However, district administration said that survey was conducted in the district. “11000 farmers in Barwani have been identified for loss of various crops. Compensation will be given to them accordingly. Chilli farmers have also been identified,” Barwani collector Amit Tomar told TOI.
Horticulture deputy director have been directed to do the needful, he added.
More than 25 farmers of Jalgun, Atarsambha, Limbai, Narawala and other villages had sown chilli crops. Now they are uprooting their crops. Rajpur is known as chilli producing area in Khargone district.
Horticulture department has a different story to tell. Horticulture deputy director Ajay Chauhan told TOI, “Sowing area of chilli has increased to 6000 from 4800 hectares last year. Crops may have been damaged by leaf curl virus (churra murra disease) in some places. But it is less in comparison to last year.”
He said that crops of some chilli farmers were infected by leaf curl virus due to waterlogging in the field and mismanagement. The disease of chilli was caused by chilli leaf curl virus was transmitted by viruliferous whitefly.
Citing an example of chilli crop farmer success in Rajpur, he said, a dhaba owner was suggested by department to sow chilli crops in truck parking lots. Until now, the farmer has made a profit of Rs 9 lakh from his crops on 2 acres of land.
Bharatiya Kisan Sangh district president Mansharam Panchole said excess rain and virus has destroyed chilli crops in entire district. Farmers take loan and pay premium. But, they never got insured amount in four years. The survey of damaged crops was not done properly due to strike of patwaris.
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