The Kolar district may have the second highest rate of liquor consumption within the Karnataka area of India but a recent trend in agricultural practices shows residents aren’t drinking it. According to recent reports from Indian media, potato producers in the district are spraying bootleg liquor on their crop in a bid to control Angamari disease, a fungus which appears as black spots on the potato plant’s leaves. Sales of illicit liquor have doubled in the district this season as farmers apply the liquid, which is also 20 times cheaper a litre than fungicide sprays, to their potato crops. The Kolar district is home to about 9,000 hectares of potatoes and the crop is considered one of the main sources of income for farmers in the area. Several years ago, farmers in another nearby area of India claimed that spraying Coca Cola and Pepsi on their crops helped protect them from pests, a claim backed by at least one member of the Indian Institute of Horticulture Research
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