HYDERABAD: TS Agriculture Minister Singireddy Niranjan Reddy urged Union Minister Narendra Singh Tomar to make pesticides available to counter black thrips that have damaged chilli and horticulture crops in the State last year.Niranjan met Tomar in Delhi on Tuesday and submitted a memorandum to this effect.
Speaking to reporters later, the Minister said black thrips attacked the chilli crop for the first time last year. No pesticides were available in the market to ward off the black thrips threat, he said, requesting the Centre to introduce a weapon to fight the pest.
Niranjan Reddy said that the chilli farmers had to spend more on input costs to tackle black thrips. The input cost for chilli per hectare was around Rs 3 lakh and farmers in Warangal, Mahabubabad, Hanamkonda, Bhupalpally, Khammam and Bhadradri-Kothagudem districts had to pay Rs 30,000 extra for land lease, he pointed out. Niranjan Reddy also urged Tomar to set up a Regional Centre for Oil Palm Research for which the State government has identified 150 acres.