Vattavada hopeful of a bumper potato crop

The farmers of Vattavada, the vegetable bowl of the State, is expecting a bumper potato crop this time.

The sowing will come to an end soon. This time, nearly 60 per cent of the total area under cultivation is under potato crop. The State Horticulture Mission made available 100 tonnes of quality seeds from the Central Horticulture Institute, Jalandhar to farmers here.

The entire area from where grandis trees were removed under a government scheme were brought under cultivation. As per estimates, 1,200 hectares of land is under vegetable cultivation at Vattavada. The main crops include potato, carrot, beans, cabbage, and garlic.

Murukesan, a farmer, says they preferred potato this season as the newly cleared areas are best suited for potato. If the climate is favourable it will be a bumper crop, he says.

There are mainly three farm seasons in Vattavada. The main harvest season begins by July 15. The ‘golden’ coloured potatoes of Vattavada is preferred by vegetable vendors across the State.

Shaji Manakkad, State Horticulture Mission in charge, says the seeds made available from Jalandhar can be used in future too. The farmers usually source seeds from Mettupalayam in Tamil Nadu.

Concern over prices

The apprehension now is that a bumper crop can cause a fall in prices as in the past. Marimuthu, a farmer, says farmers had to sell garlic below Rs.10 a kg two years ago. He is sure that there will be a bumper crop this time. There should be some cold storage facility to keep the produce safe. This time, the area under potato cultivation is two times higher than usual, he says.

“This is a thing to worry as steps should be taken to cold storage the produce and save the farmers from a sudden fall in prices,” says an official of the Agriculture Department.