The Hindu : Tamil Nadu News : Nurseries raising apace in delta

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Thursday, Sep 02, 2004

Tamil Nadu

Tamil Nadu

Nurseries raising apace in delta

By S.Vydhinathan

CHENNAI, SEPT. 1. Raising of nurseries is in full swing in the delta districts. They have been planted on about 4,700 hectares in Thanjavur, Tiruvarur and Nagapattinam districts to cover about 60,000 hectares.

As the total samba area planned is about 3.8 lakh hectares, including 50,000 hectares under direct sowing in Nagapattinam district, nurseries will be raised on another 25,000 hectares before the third week of this month to cover the balance of 2.70 lakh hectares.

According to information from the districts, nurseries were raised on about 1,900 hectares in Thanjavur, 1,600 hectares in Tiruvarur and in 1,200 hectares in Nagapattinam. Thanks to a moderate rain in the districts in the last three days, farmers are busy planting nurseries and the job will be over before the month-end.

In the tail-end areas of Nagapattinam district, a majority of the farmers have gone in for direct sowing, as water supply from the Mettur reservoir will not be adequate for completing the farming operations. Out of the planned coverage of 1.2 lakh hectares under samba in the district, nearly 60,000 hectares will be covered by direct sowing and the rest by transplantation.

Another 18,000 hectares will be brought under` thaladi'(late samba) in Thanjavur district, where the kuruvai crop was raised. Harvest was over on about 2,000 hectares and is in progress on 18,000 hectares. After harvesting the kuruvai crop, the farmers will go in for the late samba, according to officials here.

Crop loan difficult

Despite the flurry of activity, a substantial section of the farmers is yet to take up samba cultivation for lack of funds. The Government has asked cooperative banks to extend crop loan to farmers, but they complain that it is not forthcoming. Too many conditions are imposed making it difficult for them to avail themselves of the loan, according to farmers' associations.

Community nurseries

Agriculture scientists and water managers here suggested raising of community nurseries to reduce water consumption. Thereby farmers can save one-sixth of the water requirement, they say. Already farmers in some pockets of Kumbakonam purchased one-month-old nurseries from private farms and took up transplantation. Last year, the Government tried the experiment on the Sakkotai seed farm in Thanjavur and it was well received by farmers.

Scientists say that at a time when water release from the Mettur reservoir is uncertain, community nurseries are ideal. After initial preparations, farmers can directly transplant the nurseries once water is released. They can harvest the crop at least 21 days in advance.

However, a majority of the farmers are not in favour of taking to community nurseries as they feel that it is like adopting children. They want to choose the variety and not just raise what is given to them.

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