Tomato virus strikes again in Maharashtra

As Covid19 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 ICARIndian Institute of Horticultural Research Last year too the virus had attacked tomato plants in MaharashtraDr Reddy inspects tomato crop in Maharashtra in FebruaryKiran Waman from Sangamner said he has been growing tomatoes on a 15acre farm for the past five years but had never faced such a problem Waman who has done BSc Agriculture told midday ldquoI 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 wasterdquo Apart from turning yellow the size has also been a problem he saidBlaming IIHR Bengaluru Waman said ldquoThey scientists visit the farm and all they do is blame the farmerrdquo Waman said he had invested Rs 125 lakh but was forced to sell tomatoes for Rs 3 a kilo ldquoIrsquom not even making Rs 30000 to Rs 40000 forget recovering my investments If the situation continues like this it will be difficult to survive in the coming seasonsrdquo2025 tonnes wastedAjit Korde 33 from Mirewadi of Satara district said he had grown the staple on 15 acre and 125 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 ldquoNearly 20 to 25 tonnes of my produce which was ready for harvesting had to be thrown awayrdquo Korde said he cultivated the land in February first and second weeks and got the leaves tested for nutrients ldquoDespite 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 productsrdquoPraveen Gosavi agriculture officer from Akole taluka in Ahmednagar said ldquoJust 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 lossrdquo he saidOverlap of crop cultivationGosavi said IIHR scientists had visited Sangamner in February and had explained that the problem was due to overlapping of wheat and tomato cultivation ldquoThis results in amphid virus jumping from wheat to tomatoes We had asked the farmers to wait till MarchrdquoA top state Agricultural department official said fewer farmers have been affected this time compared to last year ldquoIt 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 wheatrdquo said the officialOn insurance support the official said ldquoThe state government has been sent proposals for same and the government needs to decide on itrdquoSource of the virusDr Krishna Reddy who heads the Division of Crop Protection department at ICARIIHR said he visited Pune Nashik and Sangamner in February ldquoI 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 missingrdquoDr Reddy said they had tested a few samples from Satara and Ahmednagar and found them to be infected with two to three viruses mdash cucumber mosaic virus groundnut bud necrosis virus and tomato chlorosis virus ldquoOne of the factors for the extensive spread could be due to change in climate and cultivation timerdquo he saidThe expert said ldquoI 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 virusrdquoICARrsquos responsegtgt The virus may be due to excessive application of nitrogenous fertilizers said ICAR Dy DirectorGeneral Dr Anand Kumar Singh attached to the Ministry of Agriculture Delhi He said they havenrsquot had specific complaints from Maharashtra so far ldquoIt 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 healthyrdquogtgt Dr Singh said ldquoThe ICARIIHR 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 notrdquogtgt 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 ldquoWe 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 adverselyrdquo