Untimely rain during the week has left the cotton and chilli growers a worried lot in Ballari taluk. For, they apprehend loss with the discolouration of crops due to excessive dampness caused by rain.

If the harvested chilli, which was strewen for drying, developed dampness, the ready to harvest cotton was also affected by the rain. The farmers in Yerangali, Somasamudra, Kolur, Kolagallu and surrounding places have been apprehending that the untimely rain would lead to discolouration of both the crops.

Chilli growers, along with their family members, engaged in shifting the chilli crop to a dry and elevated place to prevent the rotting and discolouration besides removing the affected ones was a common sight during the visit to some of these villages. The cotton, which was ready to be harvested, had developed lot of dampness and it would be difficult to pluck on one hand and the lint cotton would fall due to heaviness on the ground and suffer discolouration.

“The price of chillis was around Rs. 6,000 per quintal and after the rain, it would not be in demand because of the likely discolouration. We had cultivated chilli-availing loan and how to repay it has been our main concern,” informs Somalingappa, a farmer in Kolagallu village.

Sources in agriculture department, while admitting that the untimely rain would affect the crops, toldThe Hindu that they were yet to get a report in this regard.

Source - thehindu.com