the first week of August and continues to sell the chilli till the end of March every year. But now the markets may receive the product later.
According to growers if water is sufficiently available, per acre yield rises to 210-maund. But persistent water shortage means 50 percent less production.
Chilli is considered one of the most profitable cash crops in Sindh’s Umerkot district, with the largest chilli market in Asia located in Kunri town. But growers lament the lack of proper mechanism, which enables foreign buyers to buy at lower rates. For this, they demand acquiring new technology for handling the product in fields, at warehouses and in markets.
Following this, quite recently some non- governmental organisations introduced plastic sheets and gave picking bags to the growers to use in fields and warehouses for drying to keep the product safe. Chillies produced and sold in the region not only contribute towards domestic consumption, but also help generate foreign exchange reserves for the country.
Prof Ismail Kumbhar of Sindh Agriculture University Tandojam said red chilli is an important crop and specially the product traded at Kunri market in Sindh is exceptional with an attractive colour, taste, and aroma .
He said community, academia, universities, and research institutes should work together to learn the ups and downs, alternate water sources, and identifying diseases to find solutions. This may be the only way to resolve the problems and save this major cash crop, he said.
The three major types of chilies grown in Kunri include Maxi, Desi and Nagina. But growers say for the last two years they have introduced the Indian variety called Sanam (Sky red).
Prof Kumbhar pointed out that chilli growers who received hybrid seeds, which they named Sanam, might have affected the other plants. Sindh has a different climate and the hybrid seeds might have created problems for indigenous varieties of chilli, the professor added.
Chilli Research Institute Kunri, Umerkot is there to help the growers to resolve their problems, he said.