A sharp increase in copper sulphate prices, driven by higher copper and sulphuric acid prices, are set to lead to higher cultivation costs for the coffee and arecanut growers, who are gearing up to apply fungicide sprays ahead of the monsoons.

“Copper sulphate prices have gone up by a whopping 70 per cent from ₹270 per kg last year to over ₹450 per kg now. Copper sulphate is required for preparation of crucial organic plant protection fungicide called Bordeaux mixture, which is used mainly in Arabica to prevent various fungal diseases such as leaf rust and black rot. In areas with very high rainfall during monsoon, the bordeaux mixture is imperative in controlling a whole lot of fungal infections,” said Sahadev Balakrishna, Chairman of UPASI Coffee Committee.

B S Jayaram, a grower and former president of Karnataka Growers Federation, said the spike in inputs like copper sulphate will add to the cultivation costs this year. Moreover, the migrant labourers, on which majority of the growers depend these days, who had gone back to Assam during the recent elections are yet to return. “Lack of adequate labour and rise in input cots are a challenge for coffee growers to take up activities like spraying and other field practices,” he said.

Sahadev said that migrant labour is slowly trickling in. “We will know in a couple of weeks if the migrant labour strength is back to normal. Otherwise several vital field operations like pruning, spraying, manuring, weeding will be delayed,” he added.

Mahesh Puchhappady, President of All India Arecanut Growers’ Association, told businessline that the cost of copper sulphate has almost doubled this year.

Stating that arecanut plantations require spraying of fungicide to control the onset of fruit rot disease in plantations during monsoon season, he said copper sulphate is a major ingredient of the fungicide.

On the cost of copper sulphate in the market, he said farmers will have to pay a minimum of ₹450 for a kg of copper sulphate this year. Depending on the quality of the product, it ranges up to ₹530 a kg. The minimum price of copper sulphate was around ₹290 a kg last year.

Arecanut plantations are already facing issues such as diseases and tender nut dropping due to high temperatures. Growers lost almost 50 per cent of their yield due to fruit rot disease in the last season. In such a situation, an increase in the price of copper sulphate will have an impact on the income of farmers as they have to spend more to buy it. Many small farmers may find it difficult to manage their plantations in such conditions, Puchhappady said.

Though there are some alternatives to copper sulphate solution in the market, but a small farmer does not want to take the risk by spraying them as he does not know the impact of such sprays, he said.

Acknowledging the fact that there is an increase in the price of copper sulphate this year, SR Satishchandra, President of the Central Arecanut and Cocoa Marketing and Processing Cooperative (Campco) Ltd, said that the cooperative is supplying it at a subsidised cost rate of ₹450/ kg to its grower members.

Farmers are eligible to purchase 2 kg of copper sulphate at a subsidised rate for every 100 kg of arecanut sold to Campco in the last season. Others can buy it at ₹490 a kg.

In 2025-26, the cooperative had sold copper sulphate at a subsidised rate of ₹290 a kg for its grower members. The non-subsidised rate was ₹330 a kg in 2025-26.

Stating that Campco has sufficient quantity of copper sulphate stock , he said growers need not worry about its availability.

Published on April 28, 2026