Banana crop on the verge of harvest has been damaged by gusty winds in a cluster of villages in Lalgudi panchayat union on Friday night.
It was the ‘poovan’ variety raised about eight months ago with its harvest was scheduled for second week of next month.
This is perhaps the only period in the last five years when the crop escaped the winds for a good part of the season in major parts of the district resulting in huge arrivals. The sale price of the fruit had come down to a great extent. But the gale that struck the Lalgudi area for about an hour had resulted in a huge loss to farmers.
Banana trees had been uprooted in villages, including Manakkal, Nannimangalam, Mummudichozhapuram, Koppavali, and Pinnavasal. An estimated 2,000 plants on 40 acres of land had been destroyed in the fields, according to preliminary estimate by farmers.
One of the farmers of Pinnavasal, V. Parthiban said that he had incurred an expenditure of Rs. 70,000 an acre for raising ‘Poovan’ and had cultivated it on two acres. The major expenditure of Rs. 30,000 an acre went to application of fertilisers at three phases — the third, fifth and seventh month of cultivation. “We had to erect casuarinas to protect the plantain at the beginning of eighth month. “The erection of poles cost Rs. 8,000 including labour of Rs. 1,000”, he said explaining the damage had come at the end of incurring all these expenditure.
The bunches would be ready for harvest within a fortnight or so but the timing of the gale had come as a severe blow for him.
Insurance cover
Ramadas, another farmer, said banana cultivation had become a gamble. He said that the State government should sanction relief immediately. “Our fields are in a shambles with banana bunches on the ground. We had to immediately clear the trees and bunches as part of salvaging the second crop,” he said.
Farmers said the insurance companies should come to the rescue of farmers. They said that the Horticulture Department should conduct a comprehensive survey without omission.
N. Veerasekaran, coordinator of the Ayyan Vaikkal Ayacutdar Welfare Association, said within a fortnight, the bunch would have registered full growth weighing about 25 kg. He wanted immediate compensation to be paid to farmers.