Nashik, Oct. 20 -- Marigold prices are expected to rise ahead of Dussehra as festive demand increases and supplies tighten, but drought-like conditions have hit cultivation across Nashik district, leaving farmers struggling with sharply lower yields despite the prospect of better returns.
Farmers in the Kasmade belt, who suffered losses to onion, wheat, maize, chickpea and soybean crops due to excessive rainfall last year and inadequate rain this year, had turned to marigold cultivation in the hope of recovering their losses.
However, a prolonged dry spell and a shortage of irrigation water stunted plant growth, with many plants growing to barely one-and-a-half feet, reducing flower production significantly.
Growers expect wholesale pric...