Copper rally burdens Indian plantation sector
April 15, 2021
As prices of key fungicide copper sulphate rise 25%, growers feel the heat The global rally in copper prices is adding to the costs of the Indian plantation sector as copper sulphate, a widely used fungicide manufactured using the metal, has turned expensive this year.
Prices of copper sulphate have increased to over ₹240-260 a kg this year, depending on the quality as against ₹160-190 last year, an increase of over 25 per cent mainly driven by the rally in copper prices.
Copper sulphate is widely used by growers of plantation crops such as arabica coffee, arecanut and pepper among others to control various fungal diseases. Bordeaux solution, using a mixture of copper sulphate and quicklime, is applied on these crops and others such as ginger, cardamom and grapes to control fungal and bacterial disease. The consumption period of the mixture in the plantation sector is between pre-monsoon (April-July) and post mon
Growers’ delegation meets CM; MLAs demand Kerala model
Report proposes Western Ghats as ‘Ecologically Sensitive Area’
Madikeri/Bengaluru: Notwithstanding the recent formation of a Cabinet Committee to study the Kasturirangan Report and make recommendations to the Centre on its implementation, a delegation of coffee growers and members of Karnataka Growers Federation recently met Chief Minister
B.S. Yediyurappa to raise their concerns about the Report that has proposed Western Ghats as an Ecologically Sensitive Area (ESA).
The Kasturirangan Report aims to bring about 37 percent of the Western Ghats under ESA zones. It has recommended prohibition of development activities within 60,000 sq. km of ESA spread over Karnataka, Gujarat, Goa, Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Maharashtra. The Report has recommended that 20,668 sq km spread across 11 districts in the Western Ghats cradling 1,592 villages, be declared as an ESA.