Timely onset of monsoon, disease-free season, and effective crop management have favoured cotton cultivation in the district this season as compared to last year when scanty rainfall posed a serious challenge to the cotton farmers.
Of the 14,000 hectares of rain-fed cotton area in the district, 13,000 hectares of crop is raised in Pullampadi and Manachanallur blocks as the black cotton soil in the block is highly suited for the crop.
Farmers of Kumulur, who were harvesting their fields on Thursday, said the crop was raised during the rain-fed season this year. Amudha, a woman farmer, said that she could harvest a higher yield this season as compared to last year.
“We incurred huge loss due to poor rain fall and sudden attack of diseases last year, however, this year, the disease attack was minimal,” she says. Farmers had raised Bt Cotton variety in August last year which has duration of 150 to 160 days. Official sources said that pre-monsoon sowing this season had paid dividends. Shortly after an initial spell of rain in August, most farmers had sown the seeds.
“The timely onset of monsoon and the equal distribution of rain during the three stages of the crop: sowing, flowering, and bulb formation had resulted in good yield this season,” sources said. On an average, the yield per acre stood at 15 quintals this season.
Allow export
The present minimum support price of Rs.40 a kg for cotton is very less and the Centre should allow export of cotton to help famers get attractive returns, they said.
“Timely onset of monsoon and equal distribution of rain have contributed to the good yield”
