Spice production hit as monsoon rains pummel Karnataka districts

Growers may be able to harvest only 25% of the pepper crop, while there will be a 50% fall in cardamom production and 30 to 40% in ginger production, according to Karnataka Growers Federation (KGF) president H T Mohankumar.

Mangaluru: Production of cardamom, ginger and pepper — the three major spice crops in Karnataka — has taken a big hit due to torrential downpours from July to August, leaving growers crestfallen. 

Growers may be able to harvest only 25 per cent of the pepper crop, while there will be a 50 per cent fall in cardamom production and 30 to 40 per cent in ginger production, according to Karnataka Growers Federation (KGF) president H T Mohankumar.

All three of these kitchen staples are grown mainly in the Western Ghats districts of the state that were battered by heavy rains this monsoon.

Pepper is cultivated 2,22,394 ha in Karnataka, which is the largest producer of the crop in the country. The state is expected to churn out 89,000 tonnes of pepper for 2023-24. In 2022-23, the figure stood at 80,805 tonnes (2.07 lakh ha).

“We had a good blossom of pepper vines but 25 days of continuous rain and gusty winds in July caused extensive damage, reducing the expected yield,” said a despondent Subbaiah T from Somwarpet.

Some farmers have had it worse and have reported losses of up to 85 per cent peppercorns. 

Normally, pepper vines would begin to sprout spikes in July and August but this year the spikes failed to emerge, reducing the number of peppercorns per spike.

“I usually harvest 3,000 kg of black pepper annually but this year I have lost almost everything. The rain also caused cardamom pods to start dropping,” added Subbaiah.

Grown on 25,135 hectares, cardamom is typically harvested from late August to November but the rainfall posed significant challenges as it prevented farmers from drying harvested cardamom and hindered the harvesting of remaining pods.

“This year, cardamom ripened prematurely due to increased rainfall since July. We managed the first harvest in the rain by drying the pods in the wind. We had postponed the second round to October, hoping for less rain but the downpour continued,” lamented farmer Karabil Jagadish.

Prolonged rain has also reduced the size of cardamom pods, affecting their quality.

Subbaiah also said he could harvest only 500 bags of ginger from the six acres he cultivated due to rain. “Ginger is affected with koleroga (rotting disease) due to heavy showers,” Mohankumar said of the spice that is cultivated on 40,000 hectares in the state.

Acknowledging the impact on cardamom, ginger and black pepper, Karnataka State Spices Development Board MD B R Girish said the extent of the damage will be assessed in a joint survey by agriculture, horticulture, and revenue department officials in each district.