Rains dash cotton ryots hopes

Mahbubnagar: The heavy downpour in the past one week in Mahbubnagar and surrounding areas has washed away the hopes of cotton and paddy farmers in the district.

Among all the 26 mandals in the district, the farmers in Jadcherla, Balanagar and Rajapur mandals had to face the fury of the rain as more than 40,000 acres of cotton and paddy withered due to untimely rains. The Jadcherla mandal alone recorded more than 7.7mm rainfall inundating all the ‘nalas’ and filling up the empty tanks in and around the constituency.

As per the latest statistical estimates by the Agriculture department, more than 29,000 acres of cotton has been spoiled due to the heavy downpour in Jadcherla mandal alone. In addition to this, an area of 11,000 acres of paddy was also drowned due to incessant rains.

Pouring his woes, Kondaiah of Nagasala village from Jadcherla mandal said, “I had sown cotton over an extent of six acres investing more than Rs 20, 000 per acre. They have grown well and I was about to harvest it in a day or two. But the sudden rains have dashed all my hopes.

I have lost the entire crop to rains. The heavy downpour has drenched the cotton buds and flowers. The wetness will turn the cotton black, which will not fetch good price in the market.”

Another farmer Mallesh of Lingampet in Rajapur mandal also expressed similar views. He too lost his four-acre cotton crop to the heavy downpour incurring a loss of more than Rs 80,000.

This year though the rains were very good in the beginning and helped to sow cotton, jowar, maize and other dry crops like pulses, rains in the later part slowed down with almost a month’s dry spell. This turned doom to the maize farmers, as the crop could not get adequate rains during its pulping stage.

Now, again when the cotton crop was yielding good and was about to be harvested, the rains dashed the hopes of cotton farmers causing them huge loss.

“This year cotton farmers were expecting very good yield. However, the untimely rains have dashed their hopes. We are estimating the exact area of crop damage in the district. Very soon, we will submit a report to the government and accordingly, the government will take a decision on the payment of compensation to the farmers,” informed Nirmala, Assistant Director Agriculture, Jadcherla Division.

However, the Agriculture officer advised the farmers to protect their crop from pests, as this season was more prone to affect the paddy and cotton crops.

“Farmers should not lose hope, even though the first cotton yield may have been spoiled due to rains, the farmers must use fertilisers and good pesticides and protect their crop. If not in the first yield, the cotton buds will give a good crop in the second and subsequent yields,” observed the officer.