Vijayapura: While untimely rainfall in the District has turned bane to a section of farmers, it has been a boon for Toor growers.
The farmers were praying for good rains for the past four weeks in the region. Their need has been fulfilled as the District is witnessing moderate showers from the last three days.
Shanthgouda Gulabal, a farmer from Talikoti Taluk, said, “We are expecting good yield this year as rainfall has occurred in regular intervals and Toor crop is in good condition. If we hadn’t received this rainfall, it would have affected the quality of the crop. I have sown Toor in eight acres. Even the price is overwhelming for the same crop in the market.”
According to the Karnataka State Forecast, “Vijayapura is likely to receive a moderate to heavy rainfall coupled with hail storms till November 22. The rainfall is predicted to record between 2.5 mm to 15.2 mm.” However, the District has recorded the average rainfall of 3.10 mm, where the Indi region has recorded the highest rain with 13.16 mm in the last 24 hours.
Vijayapura is the second highest Toor producer after Kalaburagi in the State. According to the Department of Agriculture, “The Toor sowed over 4.7 lakh hectares in the region. Toor is the major crop of the District, where it is a six-month crop.”
Rajshekar Williams, Joint-Director of the Department of Agriculture, pointed out that, “The District has not received the expected amount of rains from the last two months. A rainfall of 34 mm was received in October, which is short by 77 mm and this month we have recorded only 12 mm rainfall where as the expected quantum is 25mm.”
“This rainfall was the need of the hour for the Toor growers. This rain would not bring any kind of damage to the crop as the flowering stage has already been completed. However, the rain has damaged the onion crop in few areas in the District. The estimation will be done once the rain stops,” added Williams.
It may be noted that the grape-growers are in a State of worry owing to the continuous rainfall. The non-stop rains will result in fungal infection and damage the flowers. Meanwhile, the onion crop is in the stage of harvesting but the untimely rain has ruined the happiness of farmers.
