Anantapur: Farmers launch sowing operations

Anantapur: With the arrival of rains, farmers at various places in the district have started making preparations for sowing of groundnut seed. Agriculture operations like sowing of groundnut seed and pulses and millets including Korra , Ragi and Somalu have been launched.

Sowing will be in full swing from June 15 and will continue up to July 15. It will take 3 months for the crop to come to harvesting stage. By the end of October harvesting of groundnut, pulses and millets will be completed. Farmers are sowing groundnut seed in 11 lakh acres of land involving about 3.13 lakh groundnut farmers.

Farmers as well as the weather scientists are optimistic of a normal monsoon with fairly good rains. Agricultural scientists say that the yields of rainfed crops in the semi-arid tropics have remained low and unstable because of severe environmental constraints among which soil and climatic factors are the foremost. Success or failure of rainfed crops depends upon rainfall pattern and amounts of rainfall.

Agriculture Joint Director Habib Basha said to The Hans India that the farmers have been supplied 3 packets of subsidy seed weighing 90 kgs total. These seeds are adequate for sowing in 1.5 acre of land. Farmers however will have to purchase seed in private firms as per their requirement. For a couple of days, the district had been experiencing rains which activated farmers to engage in sowing.