The Hindu : Andhra Pradesh News : Good rain raises ryots’ hopes

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Saturday, Aug 11, 2007
ePaper

Andhra Pradesh

Andhra Pradesh

Good rain raises ryots’ hopes

S. Harpal Singh

Season is expected to be favourable for crops like cotton, soyabean

Planting for a bounty: Paddy transplantation has remained a non-starter by and large in Adilabad district though it has been taken up in some areas near Adilabad town.

ADILABAD: Good rainfall early this week raised the hopes of paddy farmers in Adilabad district, but the hope was short-lived as it was insufficient to take transplant operations.

Paddy transplant operations have received a setback as there was deficit rainfall, though the season is expected to be very good for other major crops like cotton and soyabean.

Against a normal rainfall of 700 mm, only just over 450 mm was received so far which puts it under the ‘deficit rainfall’ category.

This rainfall is not adequate to fill up the irrigation projects and tanks in the district which has resulted in paddy transplantation being undertaken only in about 5,000 hectares as against a normal of over 46,000 hectares.

However, there being few dry days and rainfall being recorded every day, other crops have benefited enormously. “Adilabad predominantly has black cotton soils which retain water for a comparatively longer duration making conditions favourable for other crops. The moisture sustains crops like cotton soyabean, red gram, green gram, black gram, jowar and maize”, said Adilabad Joint Director of Agriculture C. Sayanna.

Not too late

“It is not too late for paddy farmers. Transplantations can take place even until the end of this month”, he added.

Sowings was done to an extent of 100 per cent in rainfed areas and dry crops. Area under cotton cultivation is the largest with over 2 lakh hectares of which almost 90 per cent is under Bt cotton cultivation. Soyabean has been cultivated in nearly 70,000 hectares against a normal of nearly 64,000 hectares.

"We expect to have bumper yields for the second consecutive year. Like last year, cotton yield of the Bt variety and soyabean is expected to be near the 20 quintal per hectare mark. Likewise the average yield of red, green and black gram is expected to be about 7 quintals per hectare", Mr. Sayanna hoped.

Printer friendly page
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Andhra Pradesh