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Rain breathes life into agricultural activity

By Our Correspondent

MAHABUBNAGAR, JULY 15. A gricultural operations in the district have resumed following rain in the last three days.

Farmers had taken up sowing of kharif crop in April and May, when the district experienced good rain.

As against the normal rainfall if 6.3 mm in April, the district received 24.3 mm, and 38.3 mm in May against a normal of 22.9 mm.

But scanty rain in June dampened farmers' enthusiasm and resulted in suspension of operations.

June saw 35 mm of rain against a normal of 71.2 mm. The rain was erratic, with many mandals receiving none. The lull in farm activity continued into the first half of this week. But low pressure in the Bay of Bengal ensured rain for three days.

The district saw 14.7 mm of rain last Sunday, followed by 16.3 mm on Monday and 6.5 mm on Tuesday.

Though the rainfall was scanty, recorded at 52.8 mm against the normal of 146.6 mm in July, farmers in the district made a beeline to shops to buy seed.

The Department of Agriculture alone sold 3,500 quintals of maize seed, and asked the Commissioner of Agriculture to allocate another 3,000 quintals.

The maize seed is being sold to farmers on a subsidy of 33 percent. The department also sold groundnut seed in large quantities at a subsidy of 30 percent. Farmers have started ploughing land to raise jowar, maize, ragi, bajra, groundnut, caster, sunflower and other kharif crops.

The normal area of cultivation during kharif is 7,16,351 acres, but agriculture officials estimate that only half the area has been covered during the current kharif season due to scanty rainfall.

Most farmers, except those with borewells fetching enough water, have not undertaken paddy sowings, though they have raised nurseries in anticipation of further rain.

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