70% of Maharashtra onion crop damaged,behind crisis: ICAR

Improper action to ward of the ill-effects of untimely rains in the ongoing kharif season (July to November) led to two diseases Purple Anthracnose and Purple Blotch infecting onion crops in Maharashtra,he said. This led to a sharp fall in output in the state the largest producer of onions in the country which resulted in sky-high prices across the country,he said.

Purple Blotch is caused by the fungus Alternaria porri. It causes small water-soaked lesions on onion leaves or seed stalks. As the lesions grow in size,they become zonate and brown to purple in color. Purple Anthracnose affects the scales and lower portions of the unthickened leaves,which constitute the neck of the onion bulb. Infected leaves have oval,greenish or yellowish-gray spots with yellow halos that turn dark as they age.

The outbreak of the diseases was caused by the delayed monsoon in Maharashtra this year,with rainfall occurring in August-September,instead of starting in July,as has been the norm in recent years,he said. Water-logging in the flat beds of onion fields in the western state,which accounts for 30 per cent of the production of the staple vegetable in the country,also caused the two diseases,resulting in widespread damage,Shrivastava added. Though farmers sprayed their onions with fungicide,rains washed away the pesticide.

The diseases have reduced onion yields by almost 50 per cent,triggering a drastic shortfall in retail markets,which in turn drove its prices past Rs 70-85 a kg in the retail markets of major metropolitan cities.