Rain plays spoilsport in paddy harvesting

The rain that has been lashing the district for the past few days has wreaked havoc with plans of farmers readying to harvest paddy.

Amid the Covid-19 pandemic, people in undivided Dakshina Kannada had shown interest in cultivating paddy and the area under paddy had increased slightly.

Though the target for paddy cultivation in Dakshina Kannada was 10,411 hectares, paddy had been cultivated on 11,248 hectares of land during the Kharif season.

In Udupi, paddy was cultivated on 35,756 hectares of land. With the region receiving rain on time, the farmers were expecting a good Kharif harvest.

Paddy growers in undivided Dakshina Kannada normally harvest Kharif crop in October and November.

Paddy farmer Manohar Shetty said if the rain lashes continuously, then there is a danger of the standing crops being destroyed.

“The paddy cultivated on my field is ready for harvest. But the rain has affected the harvesting process,” he lamented.

Further, the paddy straw will also be damaged. Farmers who rear cattle depend on paddy straw to feed the cattle. The continuous rain will affect the availability of paddy straw as well.

The gusty wind, which makes the paddy plants fall on the ground, has added to the woes of farmers.

There are chances of paddy corn getting sprouted again, said another farmer Manjunath.

“If the standing crop gets drenched, then paddy will lose its weight, quality and farmers will get less price for the paddy,” he added.

The rain has affected the harvest and drying of the crop.

It is also the time for ripening of arecanuts in the arecanut plantations.

Owing to the rain, farmers are unable to pick the fallen arecanuts. The waterlogging at arecanut plantations had washed away the fallen arecanuts.

There is also a fear of disease infecting the arecanut trees due to continuous rain.