Tamil Nadu

Pest attack brings down cotton arrivals to market

PHOTO: M. GOVARTHAN

Low yield: Inflow of cotton to the Bhoothapady regulated market in Erode has been poor this year become of pest attack. —

BHAVANI: Inflow of cotton in the Regulated Market Committee, Bhoothapady, has been rather poor this season.

At the market that meets on Wednesdays to help cotton farmers get a good price, the arrival so far has been around just 12,000 bags. Each bag weighs 32 kg.

In the same period last year, the arrival was about 20,000 bags.

And, it peaked to nearly 25,000 bags.

Farmers say the dismal harvest has to do with pest attack.

During the early growth stages, sucking pest, particularly mealy bug, attacked cotton crop, which led to decrease in yield.

The attack was spread across the Ammapettai region, the cotton produce from which flows in to the Bhoothapady market.

President of the Mettur West Bank Canal Farmers’ Association R. Mohan says cotton in Ammapettai, Singampettai, Chennampatti, Anthiyur, Guruvareddiyur and other places have been affected.

Farmers in these regions mostly cultivate MCU5 and Surabhi varieties of cotton on about 1,000 acres.

Assistant Director of Agriculture, Ammapettai, P. S. Thirumoorthy says the pest did attack, but the department with assistance from Coimbatore-based spinning mills intervened to arrest the spread.

He says the yield may be down by 10 to 15 per cent.

Although the cotton inflow is poor, the price the farmers get has been better than last year’s.

The market committee sources say as against Rs. 2,500 a quintal in July 2007, the farmers this year get Rs. 1,000 more.

The maximum for Surabhi this year has been Rs. 4,000 a quintal.

And, Rs. 3,700 a quintal for MCU5. The cotton inflow and price apart, the Bhoothapady market, which recently moved into new premises, is still short of infrastructure.

Farmers say they would like to have a drying yard, as sometimes cotton gets wet during transit.

The farmers have also sought three open auctioning yards and a warehouse.

It is only since April 1 that the market has been functioning on the new premises, which was built at Rs. 2.75 crore.

The market in the last financial year earned Rs. 16.22 lakh.

The income in the first quarter of the current financial year is Rs. 8.11 lakh.

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