The tomato farmers, who burnt their fingers last year, had hoped for a good fortune when they opted for growing potato this year.
However, to their misery, even potato crop has not helped them. Their crop has been infected with a disease and if the trend continues they would even find it difficult to recover even the investment made into the crop.
Because of the disease the leaves have started falling in the plants, resulting in steep fall in prices of the crop.
A 50 kg bag of potato fetches a price anywhere between Rs 280 and Rs 300, which is not at all sufficient even to recover the cost. The disease which is affecting the crop is not even allowing the farmers to adopt a wait and watch policy, said one of the worried farmers.
The farmers had bought 50 kg potato at of Rs 1,200 to use them as seed. They have also used fertilisers and pesticides. If we sell the crop at Rs 300 how will we recover the investment,” asks the farmer.
On top of this, in certain areas of the taluk the crop is facing worm problems too. A worm called ‘Rubber worm’ eats the leaves of the plants during night time. Once it is done with the leaves it starts eating the root, he told Deccan Herald.