The Hindu : Tamil Nadu / Chennai News : Kuruvai cultivation in full swing

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Tuesday, Jul 15, 2008
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Tamil Nadu

Tamil Nadu - Chennai

Kuruvai cultivation in full swing

S. Vydhianathan

CHENNAI: Kuruvai cultivation is in full swing in the State, especially the Cauvery delta districts.

Transplantation is over on 44,300 hectares in the delta districts and about 6100 hectares of nurseries. It will conclude before the month-end.

According to Agriculture Department officials here, about 1.6 lakh to 1.8 lakh hectares will be brought under kuruvai cultivation in the delta districts as against normal coverage of 2.074 lakh hectares.

In other parts of the State, transplantation is complete on about 1.2 lakh hectares as against 67,000 hectares during kuruvai in the last season.

Farmers had gone for direct sowing on about 8,000 hectares.

Normal kuruvai coverage in the State is about 2.5 lakh hectares. Before the month-end, the department is confident of achieving normal coverage. Farmers are still purchasing seeds for raising nurseries in the delta districts, say the officials.

The department had advised farmers to go for system rice intensification (SRI) technique to improve the yield with reduced input. Department officials throughout the State have been directed to help farmers adopt the system.

The officials say there is adequate amount of fertilizers such as urea, di-ammonium phosphate etc. Following complaints of DAP shortage by farmers, the government is supplying the fertilizer through primary agriculture cooperative banks. Primary banks in the State have a stock of about 19,000 tonnes of DAP, which is being sold both to the loanee and non-loanee farmers.

The only concern for delta farmers is the meagre inflow of water into the Mettur reservoir. The current storage of about 36 tmcft is just sufficient for 25 days as about 14,000 cusecs are being released every day.

Officials say normally catchments of the Cauvery receive heavy rain during the second half of July. Last year the reservoir received heavy inflow only during the second week of July and the reservoir was opened on July 18 for kuruvai cultivation. So there is every possibility of the reservoir getting good inflow in the weeks to come, the officials add.

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