CHENNAI: The State Agriculture Department is expecting the highest yield of paddy during the current Kuruvai season in delta districts, thanks to the comfortable water storage at Mettur dam and in other water sources. The canal-irrigated areas in the Cauvery delta mainly depend on release of Cauvery water. After a gap of eight years, the Cauvery water was released from the Mettur dam on the traditional date of June
12 for the Kuruvai cultivation and the officials say the area going for cultivation this year is the highest hence they expect the yield also to be the highest recorded in the state so far.
“We are aiming at covering 3.50 lakh acre in delta districts in the current Kuruvai season and obtain 6.07 lakh metric tonnes of paddy. As on date, an area 2.17 Lakh acre has been covered under Kuruvai paddy,
2104 acre of the nursery is ready for transplantation and the balance area is expected to be covered by the month-end,” a senior official told Express.
Last year, 2.90 lakh acres were covered during the Kuruvai season and the total yield in delta districts stood at 4.99 lakh metric tonnes of paddy, the agriculture department officials said.
The Kuruvai cultivation season generally lasts from June to August and it may extend for two more months in tail end areas of the delta depending on when the sowing was done. The districts covered are
Thanjavur, Tiruvarur, Mayiladuthurai, Nagapattinam and parts of Cuddalore, Trichy, and Ariyalur districts.
“Farmers are advised to go for short duration and salt-tolerant varieties like TKM 9, ADT 45 in the tail-end areas to cover the entire targeted area of 3.5 Lakh acre. They can also take up direct seeding/drum seeding so that crops will advance in maturity by 10-15 days period which will help to avoid crop damage due to North-East Monsoon during harvest,” said an official.
Besides, the State government has taken proactive steps to cover more areas under Kuruvai and made an early announcement about the opening of the Mettur dam. “This had helped the delta farmers with filter
points to go for transplanting and those farmers without filter points to raise paddy nursery before the reach of water in river canals,” the official pointed out.
The inputs such as 3,796 metric tonnes of short duration paddy seeds of CO 51, ADT 43, ADT 45, ADT 36, ASD 16, ADT 37, TKM 9, and IR 50 have been distributed to the farmers as against the requirement of 3,640 metric tonnes. With regard to the availability of fertilisers, the officials said, “Against the requirement of 37,450 MT of fertilizer for June 2020, we have 1,01,040 MT of fertilizer (Urea-
27,550 MT, DAP- 19,240 MT, Potash- 13,910 MT, Complex35,870 MT, SSP-4,470 MT) in stock for delta districts alone.”
Further, the availability of farm machinery such as tractors, rotavators, transplanters, Powertillers and Sprayers, micronutrient mixture, and bio-fertilisers are available in required quantities at Agriculture Extension Centers and private shops.