Pale and drawn

Contrary to rumours, the tiranga disease in tomatoes is no way linked to COVID-19, but has stirred up similar panic and helplessness among farmers in Maharashtra

- G K MAHAPATRO

IN APRIL, as countries were struggling to contain the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19), farmers in Maharashtra were losing sleep over another mysterious disease. Across Pune, Satara, Ahmednagar and Nashik, dubbed vegetable basket of the country, tomatoes were turning abnormally yellow, ripening prematurely and getting mushy and deformed. While most growers reported crop loss of 50 to 60 per cent, some suffered up to 90 per cent loss due to the disease, which they called “tiranga”, literally tricolour, for the infected tomato crops displayed patches of brown, yellow and green.

In the face of a price crash at mandis and export limitations due to the nationwide lockdown, the disease dealt a double blow to the farmers, who grow the crop throughout the year. Most, in fact, grow hybrid varieties to cater to the export demand. Worse, the lockdown prevented scientists from visiting the field and identifying the infection. When news spread, some linked it to COVID-19, adding to the panic among farmers and consumers.

The dust began to settle around mid-May, when the Mahatma Phule Krishi Vishwavidyalaya in Ahmed-nagar collected samples from Satara district and sent those for testing to the Indian Institute of Horticultural Research (IIHR), Bengaluru, a premier institute of the Indian Council of Agricultural Research. A week later, the Indian Agricultural Research Institute ( IARI), Pune, whose virus research laboratory is exclusively engaged in research on virus and virus-like diseases of fruits and vegetables, also received samples from Pune.