Excessive rain may harm crop, farmers worried

Parvesh Sharma

Tribune News Service

Sangrur, January 7

Farmers are a harried lot as excessive rain may damage their standing wheat crop. The Agriculture Department said short spell of rain is beneficial for wheat and advised farmers to stay vigilant and track fungus in their crops.

Gagan Sharma, a farmer from Moonak, said, “Like other farmers, I am also aware that rain is beneficial for the growth of wheat, but if rain continues for some days, I will suffer loss. Many farmers suffered losses after their crops, including cotton and paddy got damaged. The state government has not released any financial relief despite repeated claims.”

Earlier, majority of farmers were busy protesting against the Punjab Government for the fulfillment of their long pending demands. Now, as the agitation has ended, farmers have been regularly visiting their fields to check any signs of fungus, said Sharma.

Rajpal Singh of Mangwal village, said, “From outside, all the crops look fine, but as per the advise of the Agriculture Department, we need to monitor fungus. It rained throughout the night. I came to check whether there is any need to remove water from the fields.”

Another farmer, Brijinder Singh from Thalesa village, said there’s nothing to worry as rain has been limited. “Though there is no excessive rain as yet, but we need to monitor our crops. Accumulation of rainwater in the fields can damage crops,” he said.

Amarjeet Singh, Agriculture Development Officer, said, “Rain is beneficial for wheat crop, but farmers should keep monitoring their crops to prevent spread of fungus.”