Agriculture dept. officials hopeful of achieving targeted paddy crop coverage of 16000 hectares in Thoothukudi district

THOOTHUKUDI Despite multiple factors that had caused delays in commencement of the pisanam crop, pad

Despite multiple factors that had caused delays in commencement of the pisanam crop, paddy growers in Thoothukudi district and the officials from the Agriculture department are confident of achieving the targeted crop coverage of 16,000 hectares.

Speaking to The Hindu, Joint Director (Agriculture) Palanivelayutham said on Wednesday that water for irrigation from the Tamirabharani irrigation area usually coincided with the northeast monsoon, which starts around October 15. However, this year, the northeast monsoon was delayed by about a fortnight by October 29. The dam water was also released only on November 4.

Under such circumstances, the initial farm activity on the field got delayed by about a fortnight or so, he said and added that the normal crop coverage was 14,386 ha, while it was targeted at 16,200 ha. However, the actual crop coverage was at 19,477 ha. This year, Mr. Palanivelayutham said that they had targeted 16000 ha and so far, 6000 ha had completed the preliminary exercise and by month-end, it would reach up to 9500 ha. Summing up, he said, by mid-January 2023, they would have achieved the 16000 ha targeted for pisanam crop. There was also ample storage of urea, fertiliser and DAP for the farmers, he added.

A farmer Irulappan in Kalangarai said that while the northeast monsoon had failed in the region, the water stored in the tanks and other waterbodies had helped them start crop activities a bit early.

“We took a calculated risk, but we are hopeful of achieving the goal as stored water on the Tamirabharani tanks and irrigation area is sufficient...” he added.