The cultivation of the famed Nanjangud banana seems to be on its last legs in the district of Mysuru. The banana seems to be increasingly vulnerable to Panama wilt (Fusarium oxysporum). It is because of this disease that several farmers have stopped cultivating the variety. Dr Vishnuvardhan, dean of Horticulture College, Mysuru, estimates that only 30 years ago, the banana was cultivated on almost 30,000 hectares.
But Panama wilt, and increased cultivation costs, have signalled the end of the fruit, with only about 4 hectares under the crop. "The (horticulture) department has given us some saplings. Even those have the wilt now. The wilt is affecting plants that are two to three months old;' he says.
Farmers are unable to even break even and explain that it takes Rs 100-150 to cultivate a sapling. Even if half of the plants survive, farmers would be able to recover investment costs, however, even that has proved a tall task. Without headway in research, Parashivamurthy says, "the rasabale is impossible to grow:'
Source: deccanherald.com