Floriculture farmers are grappling with waterlogged fields and diseased crops as rain continues unabated in Hosur. While rain has hit floriculture in both open fields and playhouses, the excessive rainfall has affected open fields largely cultivated by small and marginal farmers around Hosur.
“Farmers cultivating in open fields are the worst hit. The fields are water-logged, and the roots have begun to rot,” says Bala Siva Prasad, president of the Hosur Association of Small Farmers and Director, National Horticulture Board. The association has close to 600 small farmers as its members.
The crisis in the flower-growing fields is felt in the steep fall in the arrival of flowers in Hosur’s flower trading market. Hosur’s flower trading centre witnesses an average of 250 tonnes to 300 tonnes of flowers arriving daily. With the rain, the quantum of flowers has fallen steeply to less than 50 tonnes, says Mr. Siva Prasad. An estimated 15,000 acres under floriculture in Denkanikottai, Thally, Kelamangalam, Bagalur, Shoolagiri, and Rayakottai surrounding Hosur are hit by the rain, he says.
Similarly, the Hosur market also receives flowers from other flower-growing regions of the State. With the rain continuing, the arrivals of Jasmine, Arabian jasmine, Oleander, and Crossandra from other growing regions to Hosur are negligible. These flowers are largely Bengaluru bound, but the heavy rain and traffic snarls in Bengaluru, and the resultant blockade have also contributed to the drop in quantity.
Read the complete article at: www.thehindu.com
