Sambalpur: Kharif farming this year got delayed in Sambalpur district due to erratic rainfall. Despite this, farmers managed to raise paddy in thousands of acres of land, but pest attack on the cultivation has become a major concern for them.
Reports said the district received normal rainfall in August and till the second week of September. The normal rainfall had brought a little relief for farmers who intensified agriculture activities.
The paddy plants have started conceiving now. At this juncture, a variety of diseases have been affecting paddy plants, which have caused a great concern for the farmers, it was learnt.
The diseases have been spreading in nine blocks of the district.
Farmers were disheartened to see the condition of paddy plants – with leaves drooping and blighted.
“90-day yielding paddy is in conception. If pest attack is not checked, all our efforts and money invested in cultivation will go in vain,” lamented many farmers.
Some farmers alleged that they have been seeking suggestion of the agriculture officials, but the later are not coming to stem the rot.
“Whatever pesticides are available in the market are being applied on the plants,” rued Bhisma Neti, a farmer of Rasanpur.
Asked about the problem, deputy director of agriculture, Khagendranath Jena, said that after receiving allegations about pest attack on paddy in various blocks, reports are being sought from blocks to assess the condition.
“How much crop has been affected will be clear only after the reports. Farmers should take advice from agriculture officials and spray pesticides in fields,” he added.
Many parts of the district have been facing pest onslaught for the last four years. This has left the agrarian economy shaken amid allegations of farmer suicides for crop failures.
PNN