SOURCE: The Hindu
The Kerala Agricultural University (KAU) has launched a study into what appears to be a viral infection in pineapple plants in the Palakuzha area near Vazhakulam. University sources said samples of the affected plants had been collected and they were being tested to identify the problem. The viral infection had affected fruiting in about 15% of the plants, said Baby John, a veteran pineapple farmer near Vazhakulam.
He said the pineapple plantations in the Vazhakulam area had been affected by intense rain over the last month. The rain had not only affected the plantations but had also reduced the demand in States such as Maharashtra, Gujarat, and Andhra Pradesh, which too witnessed heavy rain, he said. Rain had also affected the production of the fruit, he added.
It is learnt that the peak season used to see about 120 to 180 loads of the fruit being exported from the Vazhakulam main market. However, the volume has come down to about 20 to 25 loads per day. Farmers have said that there has been a major shift in the climatic conditions and the problem affecting the pineapple plants could be a result of the heavy rain. Mr. John said there had been a notable change in temperature and rainfall patterns from 2018.
The price of ripe pineapple has gone up to about ₹50 a kg while that of the raw fruit has come down from about ₹38 a fortnight ago to ₹25 now. The raw fruit is mostly exported to upcountry markets while the ripe fruit is marketed within the State.
Pineapple is cultivated in about 5,375 hectares in Ernakulam district and the total production was more than 8,500 tonnes last year. It is estimated that there are around 18,000 hectares under pineapple cultivation in the State with more than 5.4 lakh tonnes of production.
Heavy rain in the month of May had resulted in farmers virtually abandoning some of the areas where ripe fruits were available due to a shortage of labour and low prices in the market.