Even though the monsoon had a late start this year, the Agriculture Department as well as farmers are expecting bumper crop — up to 28 to 30 quintals average per acre. The rains had been steady, thus ensuring proper growth of the crop, said the department.
Paddy is cultivated in about 29,500 hectares of land in the district this kharif, about 600 hectares less compared to the last kharif season, said H. Kempe Gowda, Joint Director of Agriculture, Dakshina Kannada. During the last kharif season, about 30,000 hectares of land were under paddy cultivation.
As against an average yield of 22-25 quintals an acre last season, 28-30 quintals of yield an acre was expected this time, he claimed. The yield had been 15-20 quintals an acre a few years ago, he said. With fragmented holdings and reduced manpower to help cultivation, the department is making every effort to make paddy cultivation profitable. It has recently opened farm equipment hiring centres, called custom hire centres, in five places in the district.
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The officer said that because of steady rainfall since July, the crop has grown well, thereby ensuring a good yield. Mr. Gowda said the two-three days of rain in October last week did not have much impact on the standing crop as a majority of farmers were yet to harvest the crops. The harvesting begins in the first week of November and the present weather is highly conducive for the harvest, he said.
Mr. Gowda said about 20,000 hectares of land was likely to be brought under paddy cultivation during the forthcoming rabi season.
Anantapadmanabha Bhat, a progressive farmer in Soorinje village near Mangalore, said he had got a paddy yield of about 29 quintals per acre this time.
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He has completely stopped using chemical fertilizers from four years and is into organic farming. Though he had not been affected by the October rains, many other farmers had suffered losses due to the untimely rains, he added.