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Heavy rain worries paddy farmers in Punjab, Haryana days ahead of procurement
Agriculture departments of Punjab, Haryana rush their field teams to assess the damage to paddy crop due to rain and issue advisories to the farmers
Heavy rain accompanied by high-speed winds in several parts of Punjab and neighbouring Haryana on Thursday left the farmers and the agriculture departments worried days ahead of the start of paddy procurement in the two states.
In Punjab, paddy procurement will start formally from October 1 while the Haryana government has announced to start the process from Saturday (September 25).
The agriculture departments rushed their field teams to assess the damage and issue advisories to the farmers. Waterlogging of fields and flattening of the standing crop was reported in several districts. Haryana chief minister Manohar Lal Khattar has ordered a special girdawari to assess the damage caused to crops because of rain and waterlogging.
Agriculture experts said not only the procurement will get delayed but the crop health will also be affected if it continues to rain in the coming days. Also, the grain will be vulnerable to shrivelling, blackening and discolouration.
Nearly 31 lakh hectares was under cultivation of paddy, including basmati, this year.
As per reports from the India Meteorological Department (IMD), Haryana received 20.5mm rainfall on Thursday. Heavy rain was witnessed in several districts, including Jind, Sonepat, Panipat, Kaithal, Hisar, Fatehabad, Bhiwani, Rewari Karnal, Kurukshetra and Ambala.
Punjab agriculture commissioner BS Sidhu said it was a cause of worry but there is no emergency-like situation. “We are observing the ground situation as the district agriculture authorities have been asked to remain stationed on the ground. The weather conditions remained perfect for the growth of crop this kharif season but more rain in the coming days will affect procurement. The meteorological department has issued a warning of more rainfall in the days to come,” Sidhu said.
Aditya Dabas, deputy director of Haryana agriculture department, Karnal, said, “Rain at this stage is harmful for paddy as it may lead the attack of white-backed plant hopper insect in the standing crop. And this insect spreads in the entire field within a few days if its population was not controlled at the early stage.”
Amandeep Singh Chahal , a farmer from Dhadhera village of Punjab’s Patiala district, said the farmers were staring at losses as rain at this stage will reduce the yield. “More rain would add to our woes as it will increase the moisture content in the grain. Till Tuesday, the crop was in good condition and we were expecting high yield,” he said.
