A fasciated pineapple fruit in a garden near Muvattupuzha.
| Photo Credit: Special Arrangement
Pineapple farmers in north Kerala are a much relieved lot with the first bout of rain triggered by the formation of a low pressure area in the Bay of Bengal earlier this week. But their counterparts in the south are a worried lot as replanting operations may be delayed because of the heavy rain akin to mini cloudbursts in several parts.
Veteran pineapple farmer Baby John said farmers had expected a fortnight of light rain ahead of the monsoon, helping them replant the suckers. But the heavy rain has prevented the operations from taking off.
While the rain has brought the much-needed relief, farmers have been surprised by the malformation of fruits or fruit fasciation. Fasciated fruits are badly formed or are malformed fruits that have no commercial value.
Jose Varghese, a farmer and merchant in Muvattupuzha, said on Wednesday that farmers had noticed rampant cases of malformation of fruits. Around 10% of fruits had been reported to be deformed, he said.
Mr. John claimed that fruit fasciation might have been triggered by extremely high temperatures in the past five months, starting in early February. The temperatures had risen above 38 degrees Celsius in several places resulting in a shortage of harvest and price rise.
However, the onset of rain has seen fruit prices dwindling to ₹36 to ₹38 a kg for the best quality. The price had gone above ₹55 a kg in early May.
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