Timely rains bring cheers to coffee growers

JAISHANKAR JAYARAMIAH

BANGALORE, MAY 31: Early onset of southwest monsoon has brought cheers to the Indian coffee industry as the parching coffee fields in the main growing areas were chilled.
The monsoon is expected to check white stem borer disease spreading in Arabica plants, while helping the farmers to manure the crop effectively, coffee planters said.

The southwest monsoon arrived in Karnataka, which accounts for 70% of the country’s total coffee production, on last Friday night, a week ahead of schedule, bringing widespread rains in the entire coffee growing areas for the past five days.

Generally, the southwest monsoon arrives in the South in the beginning of June and runs until August but this year, the monsoon was too early due to upper air cyclonic circulations over North-West Bay of Bengal and West Central Arabian sea.

Talking to FE, Karnataka Coffee Planters Association’s general secretary Vijay Karnad said, “Though early, the rains are timely after a particularly hot summer.” Due to acute drought from 2002 to 2004, he added, the borer disease spread like wildfire in Arabica coffee pockets of Tamil Nadu, Karnataka and Kerala.

The year 2005 witnessed appreciable monsoon, but by that time, the planters had removed sizeable amount of disease hit Arabica plants, Mr Karnad said. There is no alternative way other than uprooting the plant if the disease attacked, he added.

According to the industry estimates, he said that nearly 30% of Arabica crops have been damaged following the stem borer disease. The industry will take six to seven years for revival. He added that the rains would benefit the planters who are preparing to manure crops.

Mr Karnad said that the blossom showers in mid-April was also good this year, showing positive signs for the coffee industry. The current heavy rains would not have any adverse effects on crop, he said, adding, the current month is berry formation time for coffee crops. Even heavy rains generally don’t cause the berries in the formation stage to fall. “The industry expects to get good crop this year.”