Potato light blight attack on potatoes has compelled Karnataka potato growers to shift to cultivate other cash crops such as maize and ginger .jpg) At a time when the government is pampering the food processing sector in the country, the agricultural sector is still lying largely neglected and uncared for due to poor infrastructure and lack of adequate initiatives on part of the concerned authorities. While on one hand food grains are getting wasted because of inadequate storage facilities, on the other hand, inferior preventive measures are failing to protect crops from pest attacks and other destructive diseases. Similar is the fate of potatoes grown in the Hassan district of Karnataka where potato light blight (PLB) has affected potato production of the state, forcing potato growers to cultivate other cash crops such as maize and ginger.
“This is the fifth consecutive year when PLB has attacked Karnataka potatoes. The attack will naturally result in the decline of acreage under potato cultivation, which eventually will have an impact on potato output of the state,” said Dr H Nagraj, joint director horticulture (vegetables), Karnataka Horticulture Department in an interview with a FoodProcessing360 correspondent.
Impact
PLB attack had brought down potato cultivation acreage to 43,300 hectares in 2007-08 from 55,800 hectares in 2005-06, which has in turn halved potato production in the state from 3.6 lakh tonnes (lt) in 2005-06 to as less as 1.45 lt in 2007-08.
“The PLB attack has become quite frequent in the state owing to which we are compelled to buy potatoes from Gujarat,” said Gopal Mondal, owner of Sara Food Products, a small-sized Bengaluru-based company manufacturing potato chips.
What is PLB?
PLB—generally of two types, early blight and late blight—is a disease caused by a fungus known as Phytophthora infestans. The fungus attacks the crop in its tubers and foliage at any stage of its growth.
Notably, Karnataka is one of the leading potato growing states in the country. Besides Hassan, Chikmagalur, Hubli and Dharwad are some of the other areas where potato is grown in huge quantity.
Shalmoli Kundu |
