Flower, vegetable crops damaged, prices set to skyrocket

Bengaluru: Due to the intensity of Mandous' stormy winds, the flower and vegetable crops were washed away by the rain. Due to the heavy downpour of rains for the last one week, the moisture in the flowers of Marigold and Sevanti ( Chrysanthemum) are getting spoiled very quickly. Flowers are in demand as it is the season of auspicious ceremonies. However, the rotting of flowers has become a headache for farmers and traders. The flower should be used within a day after picking. If the flowers are stored, they are unusable.

In KR market, Sevanti flower was Rs 100-120 per kg, but now it has come down to only Rs 20. Even rose flower which was Rs 120-130 has now come down to Rs 50-60. Jasmine flower, which was above Rs 300-400, has fallen to Rs 180, and Kanakambara (Crosandra), which was around Rs 500, has fallen to Rs 200. 'The flower grown in poly houses is only worth a little because it is not wet,' says GM Diwakar, president of KR Market Wholesale Flower Sellers Association. There are about 2,200 stalls in KR Market and more than 25-30 types of business including flowers are transacted. If other business has fallen by 40-50%, flower business has declined by 40%. Diwakar says that there has been a reduction of 80%.

Damage to vegetable crops

Farmers suffered heavy losses due to the last rains. Now it's raining again, it's like rubbing salt on the wound. Beans, Chilli bajji and tomatoes are rotting in the farm due to the rains that have been pouring for the past few days. Apart from this, flowers and pods of vine vegetables like eggplant, ridge gourd, bitter gourd are falling. The crops like beet root, carrot, onion and potato are rotting due to stagnant water in the farm. The spinach will rot even if there is a little water while growing. In this case, due to continuous rain, the vegetable crops have completely rotted. Farmers and traders are worried that if it rains like this for a few more days, the crops will be damaged further and the prices will be expensive.