Vanilla trees wilting away

Vanilla trees wilting away

SEMARANG, Central Java: Around 700 of the 1,000 hectares of
vanilla trees in the province are either damaged or have already
died of disease.

Wassiman, an official at the provincial office of the
plantation agency, said yesterday that the disease which attacks
the stems is most likely to affect productive trees.

He said that before the trees die, their stems change color
from green to brown.

Wassiman said that a cure for the disease had not been
invented yet, adding that losses suffered by farmers should be
great given the fact that a kilogram of vanilla sells for between
Rp 50,000 and Rp 75,000. (har/par)