The Hindu Business Line : Rain affects drying of white arecanut

Mangalore, March 24 The untimely summer rainfall has made the lives of white arecanut growers miserable as they are not in a position either to dry the harvested crop or dispose it of. They also fear that continuous rainfall may lead to inflorescence dieback and button shedding in plants, leading to reduction in yield.

Usually growers begin harvesting arecanut from November and continue till February. After harvesting the crop, it requires around 50 days of sun-drying to suit the needs of the white arecanut market.

Most of the crops, which were harvested during January and February, are in the drying yards of growers. The untimely rainfall has made it impossible for them to either shift the crop to godowns or to continue with the drying process.

Impact on quality

When Business Line spoke to a section of growers, they felt that nearly 15 to 20 per cent of white arecanut, which are in drying stage, were affected by this untimely rainfall. The quality deterioration of the commodity will have an impact on the price of the crop being dried.

Quoting his experience, Mr P. Ramakrishna Shastri, a grower from Mani in Dakshina Kannada district, said nearly 40 to 50 per cent of crop was being sun-dried now in his drying yard. With the continuous rainfall for nearly 10 days, it has become impossible for him to dry the crop, as the drying yard is wet.

Arecanuts, which are already wet, cannot be stored. This will bring down the quality of the commodity, as there are chances of fungal growth in it.

Mr M. Srinivasa Achar, President of the All-India Areca Growers’ Association, said that most of his harvested crop, which was in the drying yard, was washed away in the rainwater. Those arecanuts that can be recovered do not fetch good price as the crop will not be good of quality.

Flowering disrupted

Agreeing with the woes of other growers on harvested crop, Mr A. Subrahmanya Bhat, a grower from Vittal in Dakshina Kannada, said the other problem will be the onslaught of diseases in plantations. Continuous rainfall may affect the flowering process, leading to various diseases.

Though two-third of flowering process had been completed, the remaining one-third may face the threat of diseases.

A source in Arecanut Research Station at Vittal in Dakshina Kannada district told Business Line that there may also be chances of fruit rot disease in plantations. Since the plantations in the region witnessed the disease last year, the condition is conducive for escalation of fruit rot disease

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