Vikarabad : Ryots await rains; many sow seeds for Kharif

Vikarabad: Indian agriculture is a gamble on the monsoon. The sudden showers raised the hopes in the farmers. The farming community commenced agriculture works hoping abundant rainfall in the season. They have sown seeds. But the absence of rains is now worrying them a lot.

The showers should have started from the beginning of the rainy season. But, there is no such climate right now. The heat has been in its peak.

On the other hand, Kharif is ready for the farmers to start preparations. Farmers are ploughing the soil, buying the pesticides and seeds. The cultivation works picked up after the appearance of clouds in the sky. But, the time has not come yet. Officials say that farmers should wait for some more time.

There was rain a few days ago bringing hope to the farmers. But, again summer seems to be back, and there are no signs of rain. The farmers have already sown the seeds in the district after the recent rains.

Agriculture in the district is mainly dependent on rainfall due to lack of significant river basins. Tanduru, Parigi, Vikarabad and Kodangal constituencies have a total area of 1.73 lakh hectares. So far, over 5% of the crops have been sown. Millions of farmers are waiting for the rains. The rains that fell a week ago were not uniform across the district. Agriculture officials claim that some areas did not receive the rains at all.

According to officials, the district is expected to register 108 mm of normal rainfall in June. As of June 12, there was a deficit of 38.7 mm rainfall. This has become a problem for cultivation.

The rains are getting delayed compared to last year. District Agricultural Officers indicate that the sowing of seeds for simultaneous rains has a danger of moisture in the ground going dry, and consequently, the seeds not germinating. It is said that the ideal climate is when the soil is completely wet. Many farmers are sowing in Kodungal, Parigi, Vikarabad and Tandur constituencies.

Cotton is cultivated in about 42,000 hectares, kandi in 56,000 hcta, 32,000 hectares of maize and 12,000 hectares of rice in the district. The farmers from Rupakhnapeta, Rangampalli, Madaram and Polkampalli villages in Parigi Mandal are very much worried that the seeds they sown a week ago have still not sprouted. They lamented that if these conditions continue to exist for another two to three days, the sowing needs to be done again. Most of the cotton seeds were planted in those areas.

The farmers in the Vikarabad division have been speeding up their works in removing garbage in agriculture fields. They are busy preparing seeds for Kharif. The farmers in various villages of Vikarabad area have already completed works and are ready to collect the necessary seeds. Other farmers are spraying fertilizers in their fields. Many farmers are preparing to sow seeds after heavy rains. The farmers are running to the seed shops to buy the necessary seeds and fertilizers for the kharif season.