Ambala: Freak weather leaves oilseed farmers anxious

Nitish Sharma

Ambala, February 2

Uncertain weather and damage caused by Thursday’s hailstorms have left oilseed farmers in the district worried. While toria oilseed crop is at harvesting stage, mustard crop is at flowering and pod formation stage in the district.

The farmers said while earlier they were expecting a bumper crop, now they were praying for favourable weather conditions so that they don’t face yield loss.

Vicky Rana, a farmer in Pathreri, said: “My matured toria crop were damaged in the hailstorm, and mustard crop on nearly 10 acres got damaged. When I visited my fields today, toria oilseed were lying in water and mustard plants were damaged. While we were expecting a good yield this year, the weather has dashed all our hopes.”

Narender Singh, a farmer from Dehri, said: “Weather continues to be uncertain. It is a matter of concern not only for oilseed, but also for wheat. Continuous fluctuation in temperature may harm the crop and will decrease the yield.”

Malkeet Singh, BKU (Charuni) district chief, said: “We are getting reports from farmers and the situation is not good. The government should get ‘girdawari’ done and compensate farmers for losses.”

Deputy Director Agriculture Jasvinder Saini said: “Except for the areas where the hailstorms caused damage, crops are looking good… The farmers should be vigilant for white rust in mustard crops.”