BHUBANESWAR: As flood-affected districts are busy compiling reports on crop damage to be submitted on or before August 30, a preliminary report received by the State Agriculture department has stated that around 1.7 lakh hectare crop fields were submerged by the swollen rivers and channels.
However, with excess rainfall in July and August, the area covered under Kharif crops this year has been 33,000 hectares more than last year. The total area covered this year is 51.09 lakh hectares against 50.76 lakh hectares last year. The department had planned to cover 61.59 lakh hectares under Kharif crops. The actual area covered by the end of August 20 was 51 lakh hectares, which is 83 per cent of the programme area.
“The deficient rainfall in June and the first half of July considerably delayed agricultural operations. However, the back-to-back low pressure induced rains in July and August not only made up the water deficit but expedited the Kharif activities,” said an officer of the Directorate of Agriculture and Food Production.
While transplanting of paddy and intercultural operations are in progress in areas not affected by the flood, the department has advised the farmers to go for resowing or planting early maturing varieties of paddy in medium and low land where the crop damage is about 50 per cent or more.
The Odisha University of Agriculture and Technology (OUAT) in an advisory to the government and farmers has suggested taking up rabi crops where paddy crop damage is extensive and there is less possibility of growth for short-duration paddy crops. With the possibility of pest attack high after the receding of floodwater, the institute has also suggested the kind of pesticides to be used for different crops.
According to the Agriculture directorate, the maize crop is in the cob formation stage. The sowing of the cotton crop has been completed and the crop is in the vegetative initiation stage. Sowing of non-paddy crops like pulses, oil seeds, vegetables and spices are in progress. Overall crop condition is normal, the sources added. The State received excess rainfall of 13 per cent in July and 47 per cent in August. The actual rainfall in August has been 438 mm as against the normal rainfall of 298 mm.