KANNIYAKUMARI: The rampant growth of wild rice weed has affected paddy crops in Chenbagaramanputhoor area in the Thovalai Taluk of Kanniyakumari district. Farmers urged the government to take measures to eradicate the weed from the area and prevent its further spread.
Paddy crops are cultivated on the agricultural fields situated on either side of the road in Chenbagaramanputhoor. Most of the fields depend on direct irrigation from the Thovalai channel running through the village.
Farmers have cultivated paddy crops varieties such as Ambai-16, TPS-5, Ambai-21 in their fields in the Kanni Poo paddy season.
Chenbagaramanputhoor farmers association president N Rakkisamuthu told TNIE that wild rice weed has been spreading to many paddy fields cultivated by transplantation, affecting the paddy crops and the farmers cultivating them severely.
He noted that though the wild rice weed (or weedy rice) started growing around four years back, it has now spread to around 150 acres out of the 500 acres in Chenbagaramanputhoor. Farmers have to spend more money to remove this weed than the normal weeds.
The farmer functionary urged the government to give importance to clearing the weed.A farmer, E Siva Subramonian, said three out of his five paddy fields in the area have been infested by wild rice, forcing him to spend more than Rs 15,000 per acre for removing the weed, while he had to spend only Rs 2,000 for removing normal weeds earlier.
The paddy crop cultivation would be severely affected if the wild rice continues growing here, he added.
Officials from Krishi Vigyan Kendra said that the wild rice could spread through water.
The weedy rice cannot be removed using herbicides as it belongs to the paddy family. So, the farmers could go for transplanting and avoid direct sowing in paddy cultivation, officials added.
