The unseasonal rainfall of the past week has advanced the return of greenery in the forests of Adilabad. Leaves have begun sprouting on the seemingly lifeless trees, a phenomenon normally noticed during the latter half of May when a spell of heavy rainfall usually occurs.
The first to turn green are trees of the Kerameri forests, which have been receiving regular spells of showers during the last eight days. Instead of the brown colour associated with the dry summer months, the jungles are now projecting a mixture of brown and green.
A major change observed in the forests since the second half of March is the depletion of mahua of ippa flower crop. The yield had not only decreased due to deficient rainfall of the last monsoon, but also suffered owing to the leafing process being advanced after the current spell of unseasonal showers.
The rainfall may have caused heavy damage to standing crops, but it has come as a relief to animals. The sprouting of green grass and the filling of ditches in the jungles will certainly be a welcome development in their world. “There will be plenty of grass for our animals in the coming few days,” said Kudimetha Bheem Rao, a farmer from Raghapur in Sirpur (U) mandal. “The rainfall has taken care of the fodder shortage which was staring us in the eye,” he observed.
Farmers are now preparing to plough their fields as the rains have made the soil sufficiently loose for the purpose. “We need to churn the earth to prevent weeds cropping up due to the moisture in the soil,” Bheem Rao adds.