Poor irrigation facility has affected the yield of horticultural crops, particularly those raised during the ‘Vaikasi pattam’. Although farmers have raised a wide range of vegetables, they have been registering poor yield due to absence of adequate irrigation facility.
A farmer of Koneripalayam D. Dhanavel (41) says he had raised bitter gourd on 25 cents of the land. He could harvest 200 kg every fourth day because of the hard toil he put in to irrigate the fields. “We anticipated summer showers but it has failed the growth and yield in the crop,” he says.
According to official sources, the poor realisation of summer showers this season has badly affected the horticultural crops. “Although farmers irrigated the fields using the borewells, complete, and uniform wetting of the soil is possible only through rains,” the official said.
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The farmers had raised ‘palee’ variety in bitter gourd. Villages such as Alathur, Irur, Padalur, Zameen Alathur, Kurumbalur, Brahmmadesam, and Anukkur are the major villages where vegetables, including bitter gourd, were grown in the district. “Farmers have been toiling hard to enhance the quality and quantity of vegetables using the available water,” the source added.