<p>Tomato growers of the district are facing a torrid time due to deep fall in prices. This season, the district saw good yield of tomatoes but the falling prices have left farmers high and dry.</p>.<p>Good quality tomato is fetching a below par Rs 200 per 15 kg produce at Kolar APMC, said to be the second biggest tomato market in Asia. The fruits with blight disease (angamaari) are being sold at a measly Rs 50 per 15 kg box. The Kolar APMC is flooded with arrivals but the rain-hit produce has a very few takers Over 3,500 farmers have grown tomatoes on more than 2,500 hectares in the district. On Wednesday, Kolar APMC alone had 9,300 quintals of tomatoes in stock.</p>.<p>The APMC has been seeing a sharp increase in arrivals. Most of the produce is of poor quality owing to untimely and prolonged rainfall. This resulted in a price slump, Kolar APMC secretary Vijaylakshmi told <span class="italic"><em>DH</em></span>.</p>.<p>Also, angamaari blight and spotted wilt are rendering ripe tomato waste in 3 to 4 days. Further, production glut in Andhra Pradesh and Odisha is preventing the traders from entering Kolar APMC.</p>.<p>Last year, many growers in the district had made a fortune from tomatoes. Expecting a good price, the farmers in the district took up tomato cultivation. They managed to get good yield but a prolonged monsoon affected the quality. The cultivators are said to have spent Rs 2.5 lakh per hectare but they are incurring heavy losses owing to late blight to fruits and considerable drop in prices.</p>.<p>"We keep growing tomatoes, season after season, hoping for a good price. In the corresponding period, last year, a 15 kg box sold at Rs 2,000. More farmers took up tomato cultivation hoping for a repeat. But by doing so many small and marginal farmers burnt their fingers," Ramesh, a tomato cultivator from Thotli village, poured out woes to <span class="italic"><em>DH</em></span>.</p>
<p>Tomato growers of the district are facing a torrid time due to deep fall in prices. This season, the district saw good yield of tomatoes but the falling prices have left farmers high and dry.</p>.<p>Good quality tomato is fetching a below par Rs 200 per 15 kg produce at Kolar APMC, said to be the second biggest tomato market in Asia. The fruits with blight disease (angamaari) are being sold at a measly Rs 50 per 15 kg box. The Kolar APMC is flooded with arrivals but the rain-hit produce has a very few takers Over 3,500 farmers have grown tomatoes on more than 2,500 hectares in the district. On Wednesday, Kolar APMC alone had 9,300 quintals of tomatoes in stock.</p>.<p>The APMC has been seeing a sharp increase in arrivals. Most of the produce is of poor quality owing to untimely and prolonged rainfall. This resulted in a price slump, Kolar APMC secretary Vijaylakshmi told <span class="italic"><em>DH</em></span>.</p>.<p>Also, angamaari blight and spotted wilt are rendering ripe tomato waste in 3 to 4 days. Further, production glut in Andhra Pradesh and Odisha is preventing the traders from entering Kolar APMC.</p>.<p>Last year, many growers in the district had made a fortune from tomatoes. Expecting a good price, the farmers in the district took up tomato cultivation. They managed to get good yield but a prolonged monsoon affected the quality. The cultivators are said to have spent Rs 2.5 lakh per hectare but they are incurring heavy losses owing to late blight to fruits and considerable drop in prices.</p>.<p>"We keep growing tomatoes, season after season, hoping for a good price. In the corresponding period, last year, a 15 kg box sold at Rs 2,000. More farmers took up tomato cultivation hoping for a repeat. But by doing so many small and marginal farmers burnt their fingers," Ramesh, a tomato cultivator from Thotli village, poured out woes to <span class="italic"><em>DH</em></span>.</p>
