Taiwan's biggest water bamboo growing area is seeing crops fail, which is bad news for farmers in Puli and could push prices up for buyers.

• Farmers in Puli, Nantou County, report water bamboo leaves turning yellow and shoots that never form.
• Growers blame the long stretch of extreme heat, saying it is simply too hot for the plants.
• Agriculture officials who walked the fields found signs of a leaf blight disease, so the cause may be illness rather than heat alone.
• Water temperature in the paddies tested within a normal range, muddying the picture further.
• Lawmaker Ma Wen-chun is pressing the government to finish its damage assessment fast so affected farmers can get disaster relief.

Outlook: Officials will survey more fields and are asking farmers to upload geotagged photos of damaged crops before deciding whether to trigger disaster payments.