Maharashtra's tomato crop hit by infections; 25,000 farmers face losses

It has been a double blow for farmers in Maharashtra Many were not able to sell their produce during the lockdown and now nearly 25000 farmers cultivating tomatoes in Satara Ahmednagar and Pune are facing losses in crores due to infections that have struck the crop and affected produce Most of them supply to Mumbai and markets around the state and to South Asian countriesAjit Korde 32 one of the whistleblowers of the disease from Mirewadi Satara district said that out of 70 acres of farmland that he owns he cultivated tomatoes on 15 acres Korde added last season he had cultivated tomatoes on almost 275 acres and sold the produce for an average price of R18 per kg He made few lakhs of rupees as profit during the peak season between FebruaryJune 2019Diseased produce thrownHowever this season after buying nearly 10000 tomato plants from a nursery each plant at Re 1 he found the tomatoes were getting discoloured Korde said Sometime after April 20 I saw the tomatoes were turning greenish yellow and growing deformed They felt spongy Nearly 20 to 25 tonnes of my produce 60 per cent was wasted and the remaining I sold for as little as R250 per kgKorde immediately brought the matter to the notice of other farmers and research scientists from the Mahatma Phule Krishi Vidyapeeth MPKV University Rahuri Ahmednagar and district agricultural officials A team of scientists collected samples on May 14 which were sent to the ICARIndian Institute of Horticultural Researchs IIHR Bengaluru laboratoryAjit Korde a farmer from Satara said he had to throw away nearly 25 tonnes of his diseased produceThe situation is similar for other farmers who planted tomatoes Kiran Waman from Sangamner Ahmednagar who suffered losses worth R3 lakh said It is unfortunate that all our efforts have gone in vain First it was due to the lockdown and now it is the virus attack on our produceWe have to bear all losses as there is no insurance cover for vegetable growers We are requesting the state government to intervene in the matter and consider extending insurance cover to even vegetable growers said KordeDont grow tomatoesDr Manish Sushir senior research assistant Regional Wheat Rust Research Station Mahableshwar and his team visited the affected farms He said We could ascertain that the plants were infected by viruses Sushir said there were similar complaints about tomatoes from Pune Ahmednagar and Satara He said the virus attack was seen on a large scale for the first time in Maharashtra Similar virus damage was seen in tomato farms in Israel way back in 2014 and other European countriesWhen asked about remedial measures Sushir said We cannot do anything now since extensive damage has happened The farmers must opt for rotational crops from next season and not grow tomatoes of any family breed to avoid similar virus attack To avoid any sucking pest it is important that from the time of sowing to growing ofplants insecticides are sprayedVirus is not COVID19Interestingly the Indian Council of Agriculture Research ICAR Delhi also found that the rumour of the virus being linked to COVID19 by some local farmers is baselessDr Krishna Reddy ICARIIHR said the tomato crops were infected by a combination of two to three virusesDr Anand Kumar Singh Deputy Director General Horticulture Sciences at ICAR said The samples were tested in our ICARBengaluru laboratory where using ELISA electron microscope and Polymerase Chain Reaction test PCR on the leaves and tomatoes affected we have ruled out that the viruses are COVID19Dr Singh further added The crops were affected by viruses which are occasionally found in tomato crops We presume that the crops were infected due to high temperature and high dosage of nitrogenbased fertilisersDr Krishna Reddy Head of the department Division of Crop Protection ICARIIHR Bangalore said We have tested the samples of leaves and tomatoes received from Satara and Ahmednagar districts and found them to be infected by a combination of two to three viruses ndash cucumber mosaic virus groundnut bud necrosis virus and tomato chlorosis virus These are common viruses but seen in large numbers for the first time adversely impacting the crops in three districtsThese viruses are transmitted through white fly aphids and thrips which are small insects that feed on plants and one of the factors for the extensive spread could be environmental issues The viruses also affect crops like green chilli capsicum beans etc he addedWhen asked about corrective measures Dr Reddy said We have already submitted our report on Thursday to the Department of Agriculture Maharashtra and also MPKV University Rahuri and they will come up with suggestive measures to tackle the issueBoth farmers growing tomatoes and Reddy clarified that plant virus never affects human and that the tomatoes are fit for human consumption Dr Anand Kumar added Maharashtra produces 23 million tonnes of tomatoes but they are supplied in large numbers from Andhrapradesh Telangana Madhya Pradesh etcFindings unacceptableKorde said they were not satisfied with the report He said For us farming is like looking after a newborn and we put our soul and effort in nurturing our farms But the report blames farmers and nursery operators which is unfair Moreover we have been growing tomatoes for decades and have been using similar practices for years and had never faced such a large viral attack on our cropsKorde added In the report no effort seems to have been taken to find if the seeds were of inferior quality or infected giving a clean chit to the companies marketing themThe farmers also claimed that none of the seed companies representatives or senior officials have visited themCatch up on all the latest Mumbai news crime news current affairs and a complete guide from food to things to do and events across Mumbai Also download the new midday Android and iOS apps to get latest updates MidDay is now on Telegram Click here to join our channel middayinfomedialtd and stay 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