Paddy growers wary of crops due to rain

Mangalore Today News Network

Mangaluru, Oct 21, 2018: Rain in frequent spells have brought for farmers  a  fear that the showers  will destroy all their efforts to reap a good paddy harvest this year too.  Rain now may be alright  for long-term crops like coconut but not good for paddy, which is ready for harvest.

Farmers are worried as the ripening paddy will rot due to rains now. Paddy growers in Dakshina Kannada and Udupi districts harvest the Khariff (first) crop in October- November.

Farmers said  that they would wait for a couple of days before proceeding with the harvesting of the crop. If it rains more, the grains will fall to the ground and paddy crop will be damaged. Some farmers have already suffered crop loss as they had left the harvested crop to dry in the open in the field. Along with the paddy, even the hay is also destroyed, he added.

The secretary of Karnataka Rajya Raitha Sangha and Hasiru Sene, said the incessant rain had resulted in water-logging of paddy fields at many places. “As a result, harvester machine  cannot be used to harvest the crop. Due to acute shortage of farm-hands, farmers are dependent on the harvester machine for harvesting the crop.”

The district needs rain after the completion of harvest as rainwater would increases groundwater level and would help the farmers to tackle water crisis during the peak summer, he said.

Since the sky had remained overcast, the farmers are preparing for the worst.  The rain has been posing hurdles to take up harvest. This year, arecanut is affected with fruit-rot disease and paddy is affected with irregular spells of rain.

The area under paddy cultivation in Dakshina Kannada district is 26,500 hectares while in Udupi it is 45,000 hectares.  Hope is the key now.