NILGIRIS: Tea farmers in Nilgiris decry damage to tea leaves due to the red spider mite attack brought about by the scorching heat. The farmers said they are expecting the yield to come down. Responding to this, horticultural department officials advised the farmers to use sprinklers and protect the crops by spraying Verticillium lecanii, a cost-effective insecticide.
S Raman, a small-scale tea farmer in Kundha, said that the red spider mite started attacking the tea fields at the end of February following scorching heat, and it is continuing in March and April. "We have got some respite following rain for some days at the end of March and first week of April," Raman said.
"I have been cultivating tea leaves on eight acres of land. I will lose close to 1,000 kg of yield per acre following the spider attack. Usually, the tea crop would be ready for harvest by the end of May. However, due to the spider attack, it will be ready for harvest only by the first or second week of July," he added.
According to farmers, tea farmers in Kotagiri and the surrounding areas of Coonoor, Ooty and Gudalur were also hit hard in the district.
80-year-old farmer Bojan of Thumboor village near Kotagiri said that out of the six acres of tea he cultivated, four acres were completely affected by the attack and he had no other option and accepted the loss, which amounted to a few lakhs.
"Moreover, due to the spider mite attack, workers are hesitant to come for leaf plucking even in unaffected areas. The workers fear breathing trouble and other skin infections while standing in the fields for hours. We are awaiting the rain, as the leaves get revived only when the garden gets copious amounts of rainfall," said Bojan.
Bojan demanded the Nilgiris district collector Lakshmi Bavya Tanneeru to depute a team to carry out inspection and study the affected areas and recommend the state government to issue compensation for the farmers per acre.
Farmers said that tea leaves have been cultivated on 56,000 hectares across the district. They said that a rough estimate of more than 40% of tea gardens were affected due to the red spider mite attack.
An official from the horticultural department said, "We have not received any personal petition from tea farmers regarding the spider mite attack and we are expecting the issue will be raised by farmers in the upcoming farmers grievance meeting."