Karnataka is India's largest coffee producing region, accounting for more than 2/3 coffee output of this country, followed by Kerala, according The Hindu Business Line.
Coffee growers in both states have experienced extreme weather events in the last 5 to 6 years. Heavy rainfall in a short period of time often causes floods and landslides in the major coffee growing areas of Kodagu, Chikmagalur and Wayanad.
If last year, northern Kodagu suffered from heavy rains and landslides, farmers this year in South Kodagu will face erratic weather.
The same phenomenon happened in Mudigere town of Chikmagalur district. Growers still struggle because of continuous rain for about 9 days from 2/8.
Basavaraj, a coffee grower in Kaduvhalli, near the village of Ghattadahalli in Mudigere, said people had never faced such rain.
“We hope the Government, which has announced subsidies for different sectors, will also support coffee plantations,” said BS Jairam, a coffee grower and former president of Karnataka State Horticulture Association – an organization of small-scale growers.
Continuous heavy rains cause rot and fruit drop, which can reduce yields.
A few months ago, the plantation the coffee temperatures in Karnataka state are higher than normal and arabica coffee plantations have seen an increase in the incidence of white-body borer (WSB).
White-stem borer disease is unique to India and research efforts have been initiated by various agencies, including the Indian Coffee Commission, to find a solution to this disease. bring about results.
Manufacturing arabica coffee have declined in the past few decades. Based on the situation in traditional areas of Karnataka coffee, arabica coffee varieties will soon be forgotten in the past.
The erratic weather has changed the intentions of tea and coffee makers
“A few years ago, we had a precise plan to carry out farm activities, such as spraying the bordeaux mixture.
But recently, it is difficult to predict when we will conduct this activity, “said N Bose Mandanna, a longtime coffee grower.
While coffee growers are still reeling from the effects of climate change, the Indian Coffee Commission has yet to carry out a systematic assessment of climate change and its impact at a landscape level.
Only a few studies track changes in individual meteorological parameters such as temperature, precipitation, and their impact on early fruit drop. These studies have only taken place over the past few years and no conclusions have been made.
“Climate change is increasingly extreme and to measure its impact on coffee, we need to study the interactions between different meteorological parameters using modeling methods,” he said. Y Raghuramulu, Senior Advisor of the Indian Coffee Commission, said.
“Moreover, since most Indian coffee is grown in the shade, our production system has been insulated to combat the effects of climate change to a certain extent,” said Raghuramulu. more attention.
Coffee producing areas in Karnataka and Kerala suffered heavy losses due to unprecedented heavy rains in 2018 and 2019.
However, the extension team of the Indian Coffee Commission participated in joint surveys with the Karnataka State Revenue Department, Department of Agriculture and Horticulture to assess the extent of damage to crops and land in coffee plantations in 2018 and submit reports to the Deputy Commissioners of each organization.
“In 2019, similar joint investigations are underway,” said Raghuramulu.
