Flood fury: Harvest-ready maize bears the brunt too
CHANDIGARH: It is not just the paddy that has borne the brunt of rain fury and the subsequent floods in Punjab, but the maize crop awaiting harvest too has suffered damage in some parts of the state. The crop has begun to dry up due to stagnated water in the fields, triggering the fear of fodder shortage for livestock as most of the produce caters to the silage sector.
Even though the majority of farmers who had sown maize after potato had already reaped the crop and sold their produce by June-end, those who tried to squeeze in the third crop of maize between wheat and paddy were ready to harvest when rains began lashing the region on July 9-10. In Jalandhar district, agriculture officer Jaswinder Kumar said, summer maize crop has been affected in pockets like Lohia, where fields were inundated because of overflowing Satluj. ‘The farmers are waiting for the weather to clear up so that they can harvest their maize crop, he said.
Similarly, in Moga, Harbans Singh, former sarpanch of Dhaleke, said he halsown maize on over three acres to be sold as silage, but because of incessant rains, mechanical harvesting was delayed. “I will now be forced to sell the crop as green fodder in the Moga mandi, which will fetch me only Rs 200 per quintal. The torrential rains have wreaked havoc on our fields,” he added.
Use of maize for fodder has emerged as a financially viable option for farmers in recent years and they earn up to Rs 40,000 per acre. Dairy farmers buy the entire yield, including the corn and the plant. It is stored in a pit and used for feeding cattle throughout the year. It is considered good for milk yield and health of the cattle.
Another farmer, Jaspal Singh of Moga’s Khosa Kotla village, said the maize crop in his fields had begun to dry up due to stagnation of rainwater and he is staring at huge financial losses.
In some areas, farmers are opting for manual harvest of maize as use of equipment is difficult due to slush in the fields.
Jaswinder Singh Brar, a plant protection officer with the agriculture department, said, “Waterlogging mainly decreases the dry matter accumulation, resulting in decrease in grain yield as well as quality of silage. Due to waterlogging, the nutrient absorption ability of the crops decreases as well.”
“Farmers are advised to drain out the water as soon as possible from the crop through water channels for paddy crops nearby. Excess water saturates the soil pores, leading to rapid decrease in oxygen level in the root zone as well as of aerobic soil microorganisms,” he added.
Meanwhile, an official said the flood relief teams operating in the state had been supplying feed, fodder and silage to people in the rural areas for livestock.
Crop on 13k acres damaged
In Jalandhar, a survey by the district administration has revealed that 13,000 acres of land has been affected in more than 40 villages due to the recent floods, vich included damage to both paddy and maize. Most of these villages fall in the Lohia block of Shahkot, where breach in embankments was witnessed.
