The recent incessant rains and resultant flood in canals and streams has not only disrupted normal life but also has flooded the fields posing a risk to the standing crop.
Life has turned upside down for almost all farmers. Every farm is in water that is two to three feet deep and crops like cotton is completely damaged with cotton balls getting discoloured. The balls turned black and semi-red. Farmers fer that the yield may not be more than 5% even if they are able to get labour to pick the cotton balls.
Paddy farmers are making all out efforts to save the standing crop. They are trying to keep the plants standing and not allowing it to fall into in the standing water. A farmer in Venkatapur village in Sadashivpet mandal in the district, P. Venkata Reddy, who has sown paddy in two acres found the crop had fallen into the water due to the rains.
In an effort to save his crop he hired labour to tie up with strings bunches of five to 10 plants which would ensure that the plants remain standing and not soak in the water.
“This is the fine variety Telangana Sona rice. I had spent about ₹ 18,000 for two acres to save the crop. The paddy yield per acre is expected to be around 20 quintals which roughly would give me 10 quintals of rice after milling. In the open market the rice should fetch me around ₹4,000 per quintal and I should get a revenue of ₹ 80,000 if I spend this amount. Though this is an additional burden for me there is no other go. What else can we do?” asked Mr. Venkata Reddy.
He is not the only one in the district tying up plants to protect them, a number of farmers have already adopted the method in the district.