Standing paddy crop in over five acres got submerged due to heavy rain and gusty winds in the early hours of Wednesday.
Vege Raviraju, a farmer from Reddipalli in Bukkarayasamudram mandal is at his wits’ end. “I cultivated an IR variety close to BPT. I was expecting a bumper crop in another 20 days. But, the rain has ruined it all,” Mr. Raviraju told The Hindu.
The rain continued in some places in the district on Thursday, causing worry to farmers who are now thinking of contacting an agriculture expert to salvage the crop.
“Standing crops have been damaged in Kothacheruvu, Bukkapatnam, Dharmavaram, and C.K. Palli on Thursday. As many as 488 farmers are facing similar situations in the district,” said Anantapur Joint Director of Agriculture Habib Basha.
So far, the Agriculture Department has identified 488 paddy farmers in nine mandals, who had sown paddy in 306 hectares.
Agriculture Officer Bala Naik said the field officers were suggesting ways to salvage the crops.
“Removal of excess water from fields and spraying 5% salt solution to prevent germination can help. Banana growers need to provide mechanical support to prevent lodging and remove pseudostems of the fallen plants. Spraying copper oxychloride at the rate of 3 gm per litre of water will help new suckers grow,” said S. Malleswari Sadineni, scientist of Agriculture Research Station, Rekulakunta.
Advisory issued
If the maize crop is completely watwer logged, one should harvest the cobs and dry them quickly to minimize the loss, she says. As for vegetables, wherever it is possible to harvest, better to go for it and complete harvesting and take up spraying of copper oxychloride at 3gm/litre of water to control fungal and bacterial diseases. In case of groundnut, it is better to postpone harvesting of late sown rabi crop for two days to avoid post-harvest damage, she said.
