The continued dry spell has left the farmers a worried lot in several parts of Telangana. But, Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao was hopeful at Wednesday’s media meet that there were another 60 days for the revival of monsoon.
In Nizamabad, while farmers are very much worried about the withering of crop the agriculture officers are of the opinion that there is no immediate threat to the standing crop except paddy.
On the other hand, reports reaching here say that damage to the paddy has already set in. It is healthy where water is plenty in bore wells and wilting where it was transplanted early in canal areas. Even if electricity is supplied uninterrupted for nine hours, paddy is drying since there is no water in borewells.
In the current kharif the crop sowing area has not yet crossed 60 per cent of the normal sowing area and paddy was transplanted in a little over 40 per cent. Transplantation is still continuing in certain areas.
Agriculture authorities say that as of now there is no problem to cotton, soyabean and other ID crops as they can survive another 15 days without rains, but threat looms large to the paddy. If rain plays truant for one more week paddy would start withering where ground water is not available, they feel.
KARIMNAGAR
Farmers of erstwhile Karimnagar district, which is considered as the rice bowl of Telangana state, are worried lot over prevailing dry weather conditions with deficit rainfall as the existing rainfed crops such as maize and cotton have started withering.
On the other hand, the farmers have not taken up cultivation of the paddy crop following low ground water table and no inflows into any of the irrigation projects including the minor irrigation tanks in the district. Against the normal area of cultivation of paddy in 37,096 hectares, the paddy was cultivated only in 18,257 hectares which is only 22.25 per cent of coverage of cultivation.
Expecting bumper harvest and good market support price to the cotton produce, the farmers had cultivated cotton in 53,282 hectares during this season against the normal area of 55,937 hectares. Reports reaching here said that following the deficit rainfall, the maize and cotton crops have started withering in Ramadugu, Manakondur and Kesavapatnam mandals. District Agriculture Officer V Sreedhar told on Friday that the situation is very alarming due to continuous dry spell.
WARANGAL (URBAN DT)
With rain playing truant, the farmers are a worried lot as the paddy crop was showing signs of withering in rural parts of the district. Many of the farmers were trying to save the crop watering them manually but in vain.
In the Warangal urban district, there was 51,000 hectares of cultivable land with 73,000 farmers. In June and July as against the average of 642 mm of rainfall, the district witnessed only 392 mm of rainfall. The farmers hoping for a good rainfall increased their crop extent. Of the 31,100 heactares of cotton, this time farmers sowed cotton in 37,308 hectares. Paddy is sown in 6,147 hectares, maize in 7,076 hectares and other pulses in over 300 hectares.
Agricultural scientist R Uma Reddy said they have warned the farmers not to hurry for sowing paddy without witnessing a good steady rainfall. There was time till August first week. But many farmers started sowing after the first rainfall. It proved costly to them.
(with inputs from P. Rammohan in Nizamabad, K.M. Dayashanker in Karimnagar and Gollapudi Srinivasa Rao in Warangal)
