The kanda in your poha is likely to get costly by next week. Traders and farmers say onion price may soar to Rs 150 per kg after Dussehra, thanks to heavy rain and a fungal disease that have destroyed more than half of the crops and the harvest this year. Maharashtra, which caters to nearly 60 per cent of the nation's demand, has been affected the most.

In Maharashtra, nearly 60 per cent of the onion crops were damaged in the rain and by anthracnose disease, which, along with blights, is continuing to create havoc in the current Kharif season. These findings were revealed in an ongoing survey by an expert team of Indian Council of Agricultural Research-Directorate Of Onion And Garlic Research (ICAR-DOGR) at Rajgurunagar in Pune district. The team is conducting the survey of onion produce in Nasik (Lasangaon), Ahmednagar, Sangamner, Pune road, etc.