TIRUCHY: Though cyclones Burevi and Nivar did not inflict much damage on the district, incessant rain over the past few days have left farmers worried as lodging and fungal attack looms large over paddy and shallot crop respectively. Hundreds of hectares of horticulture and agriculture crop are on the verge of getting damaged as rain continues in the district.
Vimala, deputy director of Horticulture Department said fungal disease was spotted in Thuraiyur and Uppuliyapuram following the recent rains. Of the 1,000 hectares under shallot and chilly cultivation, crop older than 45 days are vulnerable to fungal disease. The incessant rain lays waste efforts to drain water from the fields and also washes away fungicide from the crop, she added.
If the rain continued for a few days, the damage may cross 30 per cent (the criteria for declaring a season as failure). She said experts from horti-department were inspecting fields and advising farmers on measures to minimise damage. Meanwhile, an official in the Agriculture Department said 3,000 hectares of cotton, 500 hectares of paddy and 470 hectares of maize across Manachanallur and Marungapuri were likely to be affected completely by the rain as crop had fallen flat. Even if rain were to stop, the yield would reduce drastically.
‘Hit in flowering stage’
Farmers in Thanjavur and Tiruvarur fear heavy rains that lashed the region from Thursday night would lead to pollen shedding in samba paddy crop which is in flowering stage. Crops in 11,730 hectares were damaged in rain during Burevi.