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Farmers worries rise amid harsh winter

Published : Monday, 15 January, 2024 at 12:00 AM  Count : 439
Shamiran Biswas
Due to severe winter and dense fog, the seed bed of Boro is being destroyed. Various agricultural crops including beans, gourds, bitter gourds, sweet pumpkins, potatoes, vegetables are being wasted. It should be noted that at this time of the season, there are various types of vegetables including potato, tomato, eggplant, pepper, mustard, beans in the field. Besides, there are seedbeds of Boro in some places and Boro saplings have been planted in some places. Farmers and field level agronomists are worried about cold injury of boro seeds and rice seedlings and potato late blast due to the ongoing cold flow. This type of weather is helpful for wheat production, but when rains fall, fungal blast disease can spread. Meanwhile, the temperature in different parts of the country has decreased to 8-7 degrees Celsius. As a result, farmers are increasingly worried about the seeds and potatoes of RopaBoro. Although there is no danger of boro seed planting damage, there is some concern about the seed bed. Farmers are also worried about potatoes.

On the other hand, the government has discouraged wheat cultivation in some areas due to fungal blast disease in the past few years but this time the situation is different. The Ministry of Agriculture has taken the initiative to expand the wheat plantation in the current season after overcoming the disaster. Due to severe winter and dense fog, the seed bed of Boro is being destroyed. Spraying different types of fungicides is not getting much results. According to the Meteorological Department, the cold wave is affecting the country for the third day today and it is likely to continue. Temperatures have started to drop in the northern regions known for their granaries. In this situation, there is a fear of a seedling crisis in Boro due to the death of seedbeds. Farmers say they are spraying fungicides on the seed beds. They are also covering the seeds with polythene to protect them from fog. Due to severe cold and fog there is also concern about Boro. Boro seeds are also a problem if the winter is long.

Potato blight occurs in winter especially when there is fog. "Potato plants cannot (tolerate cold) at all." So we worry when fog falls. Not only potatoes, but also blight occurs in tomato fields. A few days of thick fog and severe winter have created fear among potato farmers in Bogra and Joypurhat. After the bigha, potato leaves of the bigha land have started to rot along with curling of the leaves and stems. After four days they are applying fungicide on the land. One and a half to two months after planting potatoes, the stem and leaves are infected with this disease and the plant is dying. The agriculture department said that pesticides should be sprayed on the land at least once a week to protect it from late blight.

Those concerned say that the severity of winter has increased in Rangpur region in the last few days. Fields are prone to fungal attack as most of the day is shrouded in fog. In some places the seedlings are turning yellow and drying up. Also, seedling burn and scald diseases have also appeared in the seeds of many. 10-15 days old seedlings in the field are dying with white and red color.

However, the concerned Department of Agriculture has claimed that the situation has not arisen such that the seed bed is completely destroyed in the ongoing winter. According to them, the severity of the winter is not yet such that the seedbed is completely destroyed. All the seedbeds that have been affected will be fixed if the temperature rises a little. Agriculture officials say that most of the rice production in the country is Boro. The yield of rice at this time is relatively high. While the yield of aush and aman per hectare is 2.55 and 2.50 metric tons respectively, the yield of boro is more than 4 metric tons. A decrease in Boro production will have a huge negative impact on the overall production for the entire year. Therefore, Bangladesh Rice Research Institute (BRI) officials are suggesting to take this issue more seriously.

The chief scientific officers of the Department of Plant Pathology said, It is important to take extra steps during cold weather. Otherwise it will affect the overall boro production. In order to avoid the effect of cold flow in the field, it should be retained with tube well water in the seed bed. Also the seed bed can be covered with polythene. If there is dew, it must be shed. Along with this, fungicides and 280 grams of urea fertilizer should be applied per cent of land, Bale instructed.

The Ministry of Agriculture has set the target of increasing potato production in the current season compared to last year. Meanwhile, with the recent increase in the use of maize as poultry feed and various supplementary foods in the country, its cultivation is also increasing. Last year the production of boro rice including hybrid, Ufshi and local was 3.65 tons per hectare. Now DAE is working to reach 4.24 tons. The government wants to increase wheat production from 3.64 tons per hectare last year to 3.65 tons this season. DAE is also working to increase maize production to 10.36 tons per hectare. In the case of potato also, 24.27 tons per hectare has been fixed from last years 23.50 tons.

The writer is an Agriculture and Environment Specialist


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