Fertiliser crisis that had gripped Andhra Pradesh is threatening to spill over to Kerala, with rubber and cardamom farmers complaining of acute shortage of the vital plant nutrient.
This could not have come at a worst time, as rubber production in Kerala was showing signs of recovery, after last year?s fall due to chikunguniya disease and unseasonal rains.
Farmers said that the fertiliser shortage might not only hit rubber output, but also impact latex production, the key raw material for tyre and feeding bottle nipples.
?Urea and rock phosphate are vital to rubber plantations in early June, when southwest monsoon sets in Kerala. Shortage of the key ingredients can harm output,? says Josekutty Antony, president, Rubber Nursery-owners Association.
Though monsoon has kept its date with Kerala this year and hit the state on May 31, fertiliser supplies have been inadequate.
It is not only, rubber planters who are facing the brunt of dwindling fertiliser supplies, the cardamom growers in the state are also worried about low availability of fertilisers.
Cardamom farms have to be treated with plant nutrients in May and June, before auctioning starts in July.
Not only the supply is scarce in the state, its distribution is also skewed in favour of pineapple farms of Muvattupuzha, leaving little for cardamom hills of Idukky, which account for around 60% of India?s cardamom production.
?Cardamom is highly nutrient-sensitive and any shortage of the same could lead to fall in production,? said M Murugan, an agriculture researcher.
Fertiliser companies on the other hand blame cash crunch and soaring global fertiliser prices for the shortage in supplies. ?Both phosphate and sulphur prices have surged in the past months and with no sign on any improvement in central subsidy, we can?t increase our import bill,? a senior official from fertilisers and chemicals travancore (FACT) said.