Karnataka farmers destroy onion crop ravaged by disease

As the root rot ravage the crop with the excessive rainfall, the onion farmers in Karnataka's Ballari started destroying their crop. Known for its onion cultivation the Huvinahadagali region of the district cultivates the crop approximately in one thousand hectares of the land.

Ballari: With widespread rainfall across Karnataka, the rains have caused havoc to onion farmers of Ballari district. As the rotting has taken a heavy toll on the crop, the farmers have started destroying their priced crop in the region.

Famed for its onion production, the standing onion crop at Huvinahadagali region of the district accounts to approximately one thousand hectares. Out of this, 500 hectares of onion crop in Ittigi, Utthangi and Mahajananahalli and other villages have been infected with the root rot.

In the backdrop of the excessive rainfall, their best efforts to save the crop is not yielding any favourable results, farmers say. So the farmers have decided to destroy the crop by ploughing the standing crops.

Since the disease is transmitted through air, there is little chance of preventing further damage, they added.