Hyderabad: With oil palm cultivation spanning thousands of acres in Telangana, unscrupulous sellers are allegedly exploiting farmers’ fears of a fungal disease to push fake pesticides and organic products, warning that plantations could dry up if the infection is not treated.Bhadradri Kothagudem leads Telangana in oil palm cultivation, with 92,525 acres under the crop, followed by Khammam with 49,993 acres. With farmers earning an average of ₹1 lakh to ₹1.25 lakh per acre from oil palm, fears of a disease outbreak could put their investments and incomes at risk, making them vulnerable to misleading claims about crop protection products.
The sellers have reportedly been using social media to claim that ‘Phytophthora palmivora’, a fungus, has affected oil palm plantations in several parts of Telangana and Andhra Pradesh. They warn that infected trees could dry up completely and promote products marketed by their companies as a solution, allegedly making money by preying on farmers’ concerns.Farmers suspect that the disease warnings are being used to sell products without establishing whether their plantations have actually been affected. Some sellers are promoting organic formulations as a way to prevent damage, prompting concerns about farmers being misled into spending money on unnecessary or fake products.Farmers approach research instituteConcerned about the claims, some farmers from Khammam district approached scientists at the Indian Institute of Oil Palm Research (IIOPR) at Pedavegi, near Eluru in Andhra Pradesh, seeking confirmation on whether the fungus was present in their plantations. Representatives of the zonal society at Aswaraopet had also submitted a representation to the institute, requesting an inspection of the plantations.Following the complaints, scientists alerted Telangana horticulture department officials and asked them to report suspected cases so that the presence of the fungus could be verified. Officials said the disease had not been reported anywhere in the state so far.Scientists are expected to visit plantations in Khammam, Bhadradri Kothagudem and other districts soon to assess the situation and determine whether there is any evidence of the suspected infection. The field inspections are expected to help address farmers’ concerns and establish whether the warnings circulating on social media have any scientific basis.MV Madhusudan, district horticulture and sericulture officer, told TOI that the disease had not been found in oil palm plantations in the undivided Khammam district and urged farmers not to panic.“There is no need for farmers to worry. They should not fall prey to misleading information circulated on social media. As some farmers have raised concerns, scientists will visit the plantations soon and inspect them,” he said.
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