Oman: Tomato crop in Batinah region destroyed by Phytophthora
Speaking to Muscat Daily, Saed Abdullah Rashid al Kharusi, chairman, Al Batinah Farmers' Association, said the damage was large scale. “From saplings to fruit and plant, everything has been damaged. We can't estimate the exact damage, but have invited a special committee from the Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries (MoAF) to survey farms in Barka, Musannah and Suwaiq, the areas bearing the brunt of the devastation. Many hectares are under the attack and appropriate compensation needs to be ascertained by the committee after the survey, which has not yet started,” he said.
Tomato is the leading vegetable crop grown in the sultanate, and over the past few decades, production has steadily increased to reach 53,742 metric tonnes as of 2011, according to unofficial figures available with the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations. With Oman's tomato production valued at approximately RO7.64mn in 2011 (FAO data), the losses due to the recent crop damage could run into millions of rials.
Kharusi said that the infection started mid-January and lasted until February in Barka before spreading to other areas. “Initially, farmers tried to tackle the menace themselves but later informed MoAF. The Directorate General of Agriculture Researches at MoAF took immediate notice and supplied two kinds of pesticides. It helped for a while but couldn't stem the spread of the disease,” he said.
Phytophthora, that causes late blight, in Latin means plant destroyer, as the infected plant tissue dies. Outbreaks spread quickly under favourable conditions because the pathogen can produce huge numbers of wind-dispersed spores. Kharusi added that high humidity and accompanying rains played a role in spreading the disease. “The pathogen is favoured by cool, wet weather; wet conditions allow the spores to infect when they land on leaves.”
Shaukat Ali, a vegetable wholesaler, said that due to the infection, local produce has been damaged and quality has dropped. “That is why its price has come down sharply and tomatoes are currently selling at about 500bz per 7kg box.”
Ismail K P, another wholesaler who supplies to hypermarkets, said that because of the damage to local produce he cannot supply poor quality tomatoes to supermarkets. “We are importing tomatoes, cauliflowers, capsicums and lettuce in bulk from Jordan. And due to closure of imports from Syria, there has been pressure on imports from Jordan as transportation cost has doubled.”
Ismail explained that earlier transportation cost RO800-RO900 but now goes above RO1,600. “This is mainly because Saudi Arabia has stopped Syrian drivers from entering its borders, putting a constraint on availability of drivers and transportation vehicles.”
Source: muscatdaily.com