Drought hits Vellore speciality Elavambadi Kathiri’s cultivation

Farmers at Elavambadi, about 20 kilometres from Vellore, said that the drought-like situation prevalent here has impacted the sale of the saplings of the spiny brinjal (Solanum melongena). Known for its taste, the vegetable variety is so popular that “even visitors from Bengaluru make a beeline to the Vellore Nethaji vegetable market to purchase this commodity,” said Velmurugan, a trader here.

According to R Dayalan of Elavambadi, who raises a nursery for the brinjal variety, “The severe drought has resulted in not a single sapling being sold this time, though we usually sell around five lakh saplings around this time of the year. Usually, farmers in Poigai Mottur, Eachangadu and Elavambadi start cultivating the crop around June and harvest it in the middle of August. However, this year, the cultivation has been totally affected by the heat.”

Raised in around 100 acres in villages, the yield – depending on the soil type – ranges between 2.50 tonnes and 5 tonnes per acre. “We sell it to Vellore wholesalers at around Rs.10 to Rs.25 a kilo and they sell it to customers with a 25% margin,” said Parthiban, another farmer. G Munusamy, a farmer at Poigai, said, “The lack of water has resulted in only two farmers raising this crop using well water as against 25 farmers opting for this crop normally.” Munusamy, who usually raises the crop in an acre of his land, allowed his field to lie fallow.

This year, even what little crop farmers cultivated withered, resulting in many farmers not wanting to take a chance of raising a fresh crop next month.

However, in the market here, the uninitiated–including farmers who raise this crop-are sold ordinary brinjals passed on as the Elavambadi variety at times.