Bengaluru, Jul 13 (IANS): The phenomenal price rise of their produce has made the lives of the tomato growers difficult in Karnataka.

Following repeated incidents of thefts, the farmers are forced to protect their ready-to-reap tomato crop.

The farming families, including women, are guarding the fields with wooden logs in hand to shoo away the hovering miscreants targetting the crop to make quick bucks.

In the past week, the farm of couple -- Jagadish and Shashikala -- in Doddaballapura taluk's Laxmi Devi Pura village has been targetted twice by the miscreants.

They have lost tomatoes worth Rs 1.5 lakh to the thieves.

Taking no chance now, they are patrolling the farm day and night.

Jagadish had grown tomato crop in one acre of land by taking loans. By the time they decided to reap and sell the crop, the miscreants had struck repeatedly on Saturday and Sunday nights and taken away tomatoes worth lakhs.

The miscreants had taken advantage of the fact that their farm was located one-and-a-half kilometres away from their home.

A complaint had been registered with Doddaballapur Rural police station.

Meanwhile, a stabbing incident during tomato robbery had also been reported from Raichur district.

Rafi, a trader was stabbed by a miscreant while guarding tomato crop in the market on July 8. He suffered an injury in the neck and is undergoing treatment at the hospital.

In Chintamani town, thieves had burgled tomatoes worth lakhs of rupees.

The burglars have struck the agricultural fields of Nagasandra and Dodda Tumkur villages where the ginger and cabbage crops were grown.

Basavaraj from Nagasandra and Anjinappa from Doddatumakuru have lodged complaints in this regard with Doddaballapur rural police station.

Basavaraj from Nagasandra had grown ginger and he had grown the crop in about an acre, police said.

The miscreants had made away with cabbage worth Rs 80,000 from his field.