The yield of sunflower seeds has registered a drastic slump in and around Musiri following shortage of water for irrigation due to erratic power supply. Sunflower cultivators of several villages in and around Tiruthalaiyur complain that the harvest this time was far less than the usual yield.
E.Gnanasekaran (55) a farmer of Tiruthalaiyur village says that he had incurred an expenditure Rs.4, 000 for raising the ‘Lakshmi’ variety in his fields of about 48 cents. The 90-day crop, raised in the Tamil month of ‘Avani’, was being harvested now. Normally, he used to harvest the seeds and sell it to the traders for Rs.10, 000 thereby registering a profit by about Rs.6,000.
But, this season, he had to incur extra expenditure for his irrigation . The farmer says that he ‘purchased’ water from an adjoining field by shelling out Rs.50 per hour for 15 15 hours for running the motor . Despite all these efforts, he could not register the usual harvest .
On Sunday, he was seen harvesting the field along with his family members. “My wife and daughter assist me in harvesting the fields, as I could not afford to pay for agricultural labourers,” he says.
Against the usual 400 seeds that could be harvested from a single flower he could harvest only 200-odd seeds. This season, he expects to register a meagre profit of Rs.2,000.
Farmers in a number of villages in and around Thuraiyur and Musiri take to sunflower at different seasons in the year.
