As farmers were gearing up for paddy cultivation ahead of the onset of north-east monsoon in October, the department of agriculture has warned them against cultivating BPT 5204, a paddy variety highly susceptible for blast disease in the district and declared as ‘not suited for the district.’
Farmers preferred the high yielding fine variety as it fetched them better price but it was highly susceptible to blast disease when the skies turned cloudy during November – December and when the crops were at the crucial vegetative stage, P Raja, Personal Assistant to Collector (agriculture) said.
In case of other diseases, the farmers could control them to some extent and save the crops but in the case of blast, it would stunt the growth and completely damage the crops, he warned. As the disease would spread fast, farmers faced the danger of losing the entire crops, he said.
Besides, the variety took longer period of 135 days for harvest and there was no subsidy for the seeds, he told the farmers during a recent field visit to Thiruvadanai block, considered the rice bowl of the district. He was accompanied by agriculture officers U. Ambathkumar and M. Packiaraj.
Despite the variety faced the danger of attracting the dreaded disease, most of the farmers in Thiruvadanai, RS Mangalam and part of Nainarkoil cultivated the variety as it commanded good demand in the market and fetched higher price. The department stopped distributing BPT 5204 seeds and cut the subsidy but farmers get them from private dealers, they said.
The farmers, instead, could go for CO 51, a short duration drought resistant variety developed at the paddy breeding centre in Coimbatore last year and introduced in the district as breeder seeds to benefit the farmers, the officials said. Farmers could also go for TKM 13, Anna (R) 4 and NLR 34449 varieties.
The department has adequate stock of CO 51 and NLR 34449 varieties and they were distributed to the farmers at subsidised rates, they said. Farmers raised paddy in about 1.70 lakh hectares in the district, mostly through direct sowing, ahead of the north east monsoon. The district had suffered 100% crop loss last year following monsoon failure.
