Rain affects crop cycle in Doaba, farmers worried
With the untimely rain delaying harvesting of potato crop, the cultivation of several kharif crops such as maize, melon, water-melon and tomato has been affected badly in Doaba region.
With the untimely rain delaying harvesting of potato crop, the cultivation of several kharif crops such as maize, melon, water-melon and tomato has been affected badly in Doaba region.
Officials of the agriculture department said the ideal time to sow these crops is from February 15 to March 10, but unseasonal rains for the past few weeks have raised the worries of farmers in the region.
Moreover, if the rainfall continues for some more days, it will also deteriorate the quality of the potato crop. Farmers are already worried over the prospect of bearing huge losses due to a sudden drop in potato prices right before the harvesting season.
These crops which take three-four months to mature are generally sown between February-end and mid-March and are harvested before the cultivation of paddy in June. Kuldeep Singh, a farmer, said their hope to earn profit from mid-term crops have also been dashed to the ground due to recent rainfall in the region.
“If the rainfall does not stop for some more days it will not be possible for us to cultivate kharif crops and the only option we will be left with is to wait for four months to cultivate paddy,” he said. Tarsem Singh, another farmer, said the timing of rain is not good for wheat crop either since it needs sunny weather to attain adequate size.
Agriculture development officer Dr Jaswinder Singh said due to sudden rainfall farmers missed the opportunity to cultivate maize. “These are bonus crops for farmers as if these mature without any disease and farmers could make good income of around rs 80,000 per acre,” he said.
Horticulture development officer Dr Sukhdip Singh Dhillon said farmers still have an opportunity to cultivate vegetables and fruits if the rainfall stops at this stage.