PAU advises Ludhiana farmers to drain excess water from fields

PAU has advised farmers to take necessary precautions to save their crops, keeping the weather forecast in mind

Amid Indian Meteorological Department’s yellow alert for Ludhiana from July 19 to 22, indicating possibility of moderate to heavy rainfall accompanied by thunderstorms and lightning, Punjab Agricultural University (PAU) has issued agro advisories and asked the farmers to take the necessary precautions.

Fruit growers have also been advised to drain out excess rainwater from orchards regularly and take necessary steps to protect the produce from fruit fly infestations. (Gurpreet Singh/HT)

In the past 24 hours, the district saw light to moderate rain at a few places, with the chief amount of rainfall recorded at 20 mm. The maximum temperature dropped four notches, 35°C on Tuesday to 31°C on Wednesday.

PAU has advised farmers to take necessary crop operations into account, considering the weather forecast. The varsity said that excess rainwater should be drained out from fields and recommended doses of nitrogen fertiliser to rice fields. The advisory added that gap filling if required and added that irrigation should be applied two days after ponded water infiltrates into the soil.

For the control of pests in paddy fields, farmers have been asked to appropriate measures, such as spraying pesticides. Similar preventive measures have been provided for management of pests in cotton, maize, pulses and vegetables.

As per the MeT department report, the monsoon trough at mean sea level is passing through several regions, including Phalodi, Kota, Raisen, Seoni, Raipur, Puri and the East central Bay of Bengal, creating a cyclonic circulation over south Punjab and neighbourhood.