The Agriculture Department has cautioned farmers on taking steps about the leaf roller or leaf folder worms, which have affected paddy crops in a few parts of the district.
Sarnath Babu, Joint Director of Agriculture (In-charge) said in a statement that during the Kuruvai season, paddy had been cultivated in an area of 6,971 hectares and the crops were in the vegetative and flowering stages.
“The crop has been cultivated in the Madurai East, Madurai West, Vadipatti and Alanganallur blocks. It has however been brought to the notice of the team in-charge of pest-control that crops in a few areas have been affected by the leaf roller worms, which can cause widespread damage to the crops if not checked in time,” he said.
While the department has deputed teams to interact with farmers at the field-level and offer solutions if the damage is very high, they have further said that precautions can be taken by farmers themselves if there is a 10 per cent damage to the crop at the vegetative phase and 5 per cent damage to the crop during the flowering phase.
The farmers have been instructed not to use nitrogenous fertilizers. They have also been asked to keep the bunds in the fields clean and set up light traps, which can take the pests away from the crops.
The department is however expecting a high yield for the ‘Kuruvai’ season as the area under cultivation has increased.
While the officials initially expected a yield of 28,000 tonnes from 5,100 hectares, the paddy coverage has gone over 6,000 hectares.
