Paddy, banana, pepper, coconut, rubber, and areca crops in nearly 1,468 hectares have been hit by the rising temperature and continuing heatwave in the State, say initial reports received by the Department of Agriculture from its district-level offices.
Kasaragod, Kannur, Palakkad, Alappuzha, and Thiruvananthapuram are among the worst hit with large areas under standing crops wilting under heat.
The initial estimates put the losses at Rs.27 crore, sources said, highlighting the preliminary nature of the reports and the need for more accurate and extensive study of the situation.
Paddy loss
Of the total of 1,468 hectares lost to the trying conditions, Palakkad district alone accounts for more than 400 hectares of paddy. Paddy cultivation has been affected extensively in Alappuzha and Malappuram districts, the total estimated area under the crop hit by the heat conditions being 604 hectares.
Bunched bananas in an area of more than 230 hectares have been lost, mostly in Thiruvananthapuram. Seventy-one hectares of non-bunched bananas also have been hit by the persisting hot weather conditions.
Reports from Thiruvanthapuram, Kollam and Alappuzha districts said that around 11 hectares under betel vines had been hit.
Around 60 per cent yield reduction is the least of the fallouts of the heat conditions, said a department official, who pointed out that vegetable cowpea, tomato and brinjal would be the most-affected vegetable crops.
The most visible effect of the dry condition is the sharp drop in neera production. Production of the unfermented sweet sap from coconut flowers has fallen by about 65 per cent over a month, said Biju John, chief executive officer of Thirukochi Coconut Producer Company (TCPC).
The average yield of around two litres of neera per day per tree in wetter conditions has fallen to between 600 and 800 ml a day, he added. The situation is difficult for companies like TCPC because the business is just taking off the ground and there is a big demand for neera in the market, said Mr. John.
K. Krishnankutty, former MLA and head of the committee which drafted the Kerala agricultural development policy, said the State government should have acted in advance given the previous years’ experiences.
