THANJAVUR: The unseasonal widespread rain in the delta districts of Thanjavur and Tiruvarur on Thursday has left farmers worried over a significant drop in yield as their ready-for-harvest samba and thalady paddy have been hit.
The rain comes when harvesting of the samba and thalady paddy cultivated over 3.5 lakh acres in Thanjavur district has been completed over only around one lakh acres so far. The rain gauge readings (in mm) in a few parts of the district over a 10-hour period ending at 4 pm on Thursday are Ayyampettai-43 mm, Adirampattinam-39, Thanjavur -25 and Kumbakonam-21.
K A Koothalingam, a farmer from Pallathur in Thanjavur district, said, “The crop in my field that would have been ready for harvest in four days has fallen. This would lead to yield loss as some grains in the stalk will fall down.”
Further, as the time for harvesting would now be more, more money would have to be spent on renting harvesting machines, he said. S Sivakumar of Manathidal said the crop in several villages in Tiruvaiyaru are either in the flowering or milk (when the grains are being filled) stages.
Though water is needed for irrigation, it is better to have it flowing through canals rather than a downpour as it would lead to the shedding of pollen, he added. The farmers who have harvested their paddy and kept them near the direct purchase centres (DPCs) for selling are also worried as the moisture content would increase beyond 17%, which is the upper threshold for procurement.
The situation in the Tiruvarur district is no different, with the rain gauges in parts like Needamangalam and Nannilam recording rainfall of 42.4 mm and 35.8 mm respectively over the 10-hour period ending 4 pm on Thursday. R Asokan, a farmer from Tiruthuraipoondi, which recorded 14 mm of rainfall in the same period, also expressed worry over yield loss.
Farmers, however, said the downpour would be beneficial to crops like groundnut and maize cultivated in places like Orathanadu, Tiruvonam and Thanjavur blocks.
Rain holiday
Meanwhile, a holiday has been declared for schools in the Tiruvarur district on February 3 (Friday) in view of the rain forecast.