Area under potato has been declining due to disease
Concerned over the alarming decline in the area under potato and the occurrence of the late blight disease, Karnataka has launched a drive to distribute certified potato seeds directly to farmers. The state horticulture department has tied up with the National Seeds Corporation Ltd (NSCL), a government of India undertaking, to supply certified potato seeds on a pilot basis from kharif 2010 season, official sources said.
“The area under potato has been falling over the last few years in the major growing areas like Hassan due to the late blight disease and climatic variations. The farmers have lost a sizeable portion of their crop even during the last kharif season using uncertified seeds. In order to help them overcome the problem, we have decided to distribute good quality certified seeds on an experimental basis from this year,” officials told Business Standard.
The late blight disease, which occurs due to low temperatures, has severely hit the potato crop in Karnataka for the past few years. Potato is grown during the kharif and rabi season. The major growing areas of Hassan and Kolar districts have reported the disease in a vast area. As a result of the late blight disease, a large numbers of farmers are shifting from potato to maize and ginger.
The area under potato has dropped from a high of 67,891 hectares in 2007-08 to around 18,000 hectares in 2009-10 in Hassan, which accounts for over 50 per cent of the state’s annual produce. Kolar accounted for about 6,000 hectares, about 20 of which were devastated during the Rabi season this year, according to official estimates. About 50 per cent of the area sown in Hassan reported a lower production this year. Normally, productivity is about 10 tonnes per hectare.
The department of horticulture has imported 4,960 quintals of certified potato seeds from NSCL for distribution in Hassan district. A committee has been constituted headed by the deputy commissioner of Hassan district, who will oversee the distribution of seeds to farmers. The department has identified 39 clusters in the district and has asked interested farmers to deposit 50 per cent of the cost of seeds from April 27 onwards. The seeds will be distributed among farmers from May 10 onwards based on monsoon estimates, an official said. The potato sowing for kharif season commences by end of May and goes on till end of June.
The department has priced the seeds at Rs 1,356 per quintal and each farmer will get a maximum of 10 quintals. “We have taken up this project on a pilot basis because the farmers are cheated by private seed traders, who normally sell the table potato seeds most susceptible to the late blight. Depending on the response we will scale it up from the next year onwards,” the official said.
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The state has earmarked Rs 1 crore for the programme under the revolving fund from Rashtriya Krishi Vikas Yojana.
From next year onwards, the department proposes to take up seed production on its own, the official said.