DHARMAPURI: Experts from Krishi Vigyan Kendra (KVK) on Thursday issued guidelines to prevent paddy failure in Harur and said they would conduct a study on if the crops could not be recovered. Farmers, however, expressed disappointment and said they cannot salvage the crops.
Last week, several farmers in Harur were alarmed after their paddy crops started to mature 20 days after planting paddy seeds of ‘Eashwari -22’ variety. Following reports, agriculture department and the KVK had conducted a field study. On Thursday, KVK had issued a statement saying that wrong use of fertilisers had caused early maturing of paddy and issued guidelines to salvage crops.
KVK researcher Dr Sivakumar stated, “The Eashwari -22 variety usually matures 70 days after planting and its total life cycle is 120 days. However, in Harur, this variety had matured in just 20 days. The cause of this is the use of wrong fertilisers, there is a possibility to recover the crop by the use of zinc sulfate, urea and potash.”
However, farmers are dissatisfied with the findings. K Annamalai, a farmer from Harur said, “Paddy planted by over 100 farmers has already matured. Even if we use the new methods, the crop has stunted beyond recovery. The recommendation to continue use of these methods will not recover paddy. Further, KVK researchers have not determined the quality of the seeds sold to farmers.”
Another farmer R Muniraj said, “This is unacceptable, the shop that sold these paddy seeds must be held accountable. The district administration should take steps to compensate affected farmers.”