JOIN USThe coffee that is grown in semi-arid land here has seen deterioration due to untimely rain.
The arabica coffee which was ready to harvest has been destroyed after heavy rains lashed the taluk and other parts of the district in the past few days.
About 50 per cent of seeds in the crop have been damaged or destroyed following the downpour. The seeds have begun to wither due to high humidity. Coffee growers who were already hit by fall in market price are left in the lurch because of the sudden rains and no relief in sight. The rains have also brought down the quality of seeds.
B S Dharmappa, a member of Coffee Growers’ Association has said the rains have also affected the coffee plants which is still in budding stage and is expected to be harvested next year.
It is not just the coffee crop, but the pepper have also shown signs of disease due to wet atmosphere.
He urged that the Coffee Board officials visited the coffee plantations in semi-arid regions and solve the woes of the growers. To add to climate woes, the elephants are also playing spoilsport for the farmers. A herd of about 25 elephants have destroyed several acres of standing crop in the farm lands between K Hosakote and Kundur. A tusker has also made the daily activity of the people in the region– school and college going students miserable, in fear of elephant attack.