Coffee fruits wither due to rain

Shortage of labourers affect harvest work in plantations of Mudigere taluk

Arabica coffee cherries, which have got ripen due to continuous rains in the last couple of days, have been withering.

Arabica coffee had ripened 15 days back in the taluk, because of rains. Now, the withered fruits have been rotting and emanating a bad stench in Makonahalli, Tathkola, Kelagooru and Sunkasale regions.

Shortage of labourers
As the coffee has ripened across the taluk at the same time, the plantation owners are facing an acute shortage of labourers. The workers from Northern Karnataka have started migrating to the district. In addition, as the labourers are aware of the situation that the coffee growers are facing, they are making the most of it, by charging double the wages. This has only pushed the growers to an awkward state, where they can neither reap the harvest nor do without harvest. Also, several agents have conned the coffee owners by not returning the money that they had availed as advance for supplying labourers.

In many other places, though harvesting has commenced, there is no sunshine, denying the growers a chance to carry out with the drying process. Due to the humidity and lack of sunshine, there is a growth of fungus on the Arabica coffee cherries. If the plantations continue to be denied the much-necessary sunshine for the next three days, there is a possibility of the quality of coffee getting badly affected.

“Two to three days of drizzling in the month of November is normal. This time, however, it has been raining for 15-20 days in a stretch. Robusta coffee is getting ripe and will be ready for harvest in the next 15 days. The problem of labourers will get severe as paddy cultivation will also have be carried out in the same period. The government should provide assistance to coffee growers for the use of more machinery to solve the problem of labourers’ shortage,” said coffee grower Manoj.

If the withered coffee is left under the plant, there is a danger of an attack of the white borer disease on the coffee plant. Though the coffee cherries are collected, there is no sunshine to dry them. In this situation, farmers’ life has become pitiable.