MADURAI: With consecutive days of rainfall lashing the district, farmers in Madurai have begun to worry if the monsoon would overstay its welcome this year. As per data from the India Meteorological Department (IMD), the district has received an average rainfall of 113.3 mm in the last 13 days, which is 37% higher than the usual rainfall for this period. Some paddy fields have already got inundated.
Though the incessant downpour has significantly replenished the waterbodies, farmers opine a notable drop in temperature and rise in humidity levels could lead to pest attacks in fields. Agriculture Department Joint Director Vivekananthan said 97.21 acres of samba paddy have already got flooded. "Of this, crops in 84.5 acres have reported over 33% damages. As most farmers opted for blast-resistant paddy varieties this season, the drop in temperature will not cause any issues in Madurai. Block-level agriculture officials are constantly monitoring the condition of crops to ensure that preventive actions are taken at the initial stage itself to prevent damages," he said.
Also speaking, Manikandan, a farmer and activist from Madurai, said, "If this humidity level and cloud cover persist for a couple more days, millet and pulse crops, which are extensively cultivated in the district, might become vulnerable to pest attacks. Even so, the downpour has helped almost all waterbodies, including Vaigai river, to reach their full storage capacity, and thus solve irrigation woes for the farmers." With most of the monsoon still ahead, farmers are worriedly unsure of what the season would lay in its wake.