Potato is one of the main cash crops in Bumthang. But this year, yield has gone down due to disease called ‘late blight’ and untimely rainfall. This has left farmers worried.
Kinzang Wangdi, a farmer from Jalikhar, said he is upset as his yield would not even be half of last years. “Compared to last year I think this year I might not even get half the yield. Initially the plants looked good but after a while, potato plants started dying. It could be also due to our field planning or due to the seeds.
For some commercial potato growers, the case is worst. They said, their income from the potato cultivation has declined over the years. Their hard work, they said, was going in vain.
“We had even discussed the matter with the agriculture officers. They said, the disease is common with potato. The disease actually kills the plant after some years. They even provided us with medicines but it did not work. The quality has also gone down, and the potato this time is very small,” said Sonam Rinchen, a commercial farmer.
The Dzongkhag Agriculture Office initiated measures, but due to untimely rainfall, the efforts went down the drain. “Blight disease can be controlled with medicines. We apply medicine every year but due to untimely rainfall, the medicine gets washed away and so, it cannot control the disease,” said Gaylong, Dzongkhag Agriculture Officer.
He added since the farmers have been using the same seeds for a long time now, this affects the yield. “To improve the yield, the farmers need to be more cautious and properly plan their crop cultivation.”
