Home ›› 28 Oct 2021 ›› Nation
A shortage of rainfall has put farmers of Moulvibazar in distress and posed a threat to Aman paddy cultivation in the district.
As Aman cultivation depends on rainfall, many farmers, quoting the Department of Agricultural Extension’s (DAE) Moulvibazar branch, said their plants would soon be ruined as the leaves had discoloured due to a shortage of nutrition in the soil caused by the shortage of rain.
According to the DAE, about 1.01 lakh hectares of cropland were brought under Aman cultivation, mainly of BRRI Dhan-49, 51, 52, 87, 75, BR Dhan- 22, 11, and local Swarna Dhan varieties, this year.
The farmers said they are just a month away from harvesting their crops, and the lack of rainfall would massively affect their harvest.
“Most of our green Aman plants turned yellow, which will soon be rotten. We expected to get a bumper yield this season but may end up incurring huge losses,” said Lokman Ali, a farmer of Dakkhin Baronti village of Moulvibazar Sadar upazila.
According to the DAE, the yellowish and whitish tones in the leaves of Aman paddy are a clear indication of nutritional deficiency, and it can be mitigated by applying potash, gypsum, and phosphorus fertilisers to the plants.
However, the farmers said they are spraying different fertilisers and pesticides on their plants on a regular basis but to no avail.
During a recent visit to Dakkhin Baronti and Mostafapur villages, Rajnagar, and Komolganj, this correspondent found the vast croplands had turned yellowish, which is a clear indication that most of the plants are affected by nutritional deficiency.
Gopesh Das, a farmer of Dakkhin Baronti village, told The Business Post this is the first time they have experienced this.
“Most of the plants have not even flowered properly. We are desperately trying to protect the crops, but we are not able to prevent the mutation,” he said.
Jule Miah, another farmer from Shyamer Kona village, told The Business Post he cultivated Aman paddy on six bighas of cropland, of which, three bighas of paddy plants have been turned reddish and would be ruined soon.
“At first, the green leaves turn yellowish or reddish. Then it turns white and withers away,” he said.
Kazi Lutful Bari, deputy director of Moulvibazar DAE, told The Business Post plants discolour whenever there is a shortage of rainfall in the area.
“However, this year, it affected more plants than any other time in the past,” he said.
“We have inspected the area and found that the soil has a deficiency of nutrients, such as potassium, sulphur, etc. This happens when the soil does not get proper rainwater or irrigation. Therefore, we suggest the farmers apply irrigation and different fertilisers, such as quick potash, theobite, or other sulphur-based fertilisers to the plants,” he said.
The DAE official also said the number of nutrient-deficient plants would not affect the overall paddy cultivation of the district.
