Anantapur ryots prefer to delay sowing

After being shyly bitten twice, the majority of farmers who monoculture peanuts in the Anantapur district have not started sowing this season despite good rainfall over the past two months and the plentiful availability of subsidized seeds. On the other hand, many people in rural areas are longingly waiting for the sowing to begin so that some of the jobs will be created at a time when the COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in the loss of livelihoods.

Early rains in 2020 (137% surplus in April and 67% in June) had led them to sow peanuts from late May and early June, causing severe yield losses due to 147% excess rainfall in July last year. Farmers do not want to be caught by the heavy rains in August, when the peanut blooms and pods form in the 95 to 120-day harvest time of the popular K 6 variety.

That year, there has been good rainfall since April at 33.4mm versus a normal of 12.8mm and in May versus a normal of 39.6mm the district recorded 79.5mm of rain showers before the monsoons. When the southwest monsoon hit the state on June 3, an average of 89.7 mm of rain was measured in 10 days compared to a normal value of 31.7 mm, a deviation of 183.0% (excess) so far.

Ascending peanut face

Over the past four decades the peanut area has increased, and for the current year the Ministry of Agriculture expects 6,70,000 hectares to be sown during Kharif and has held 297,000 quintals of seed available. “The seed collection was very slow and no sowing work has started in the district,” says Y. Ramakrishna, Joint Director of Agriculture.

By June 10 (Thursday), the Department of Agriculture had distributed 1.81 lakh quintals of peanut seeds compared to 1.78 lakh quintals by May 17 last year to 2.07 lakh peasants due to excess demand. The state government is likely to extend the final seed distribution date from June 17 to July 1, as scientists from Acharya NG Ranga Agricultural University at the Rekulakunta Agriculture Research Station in the district have recommended peanut sowing in the first week of July.

Plant diversification

Meanwhile, fertilizer stocks are positioned at the RBKs. Compared to an estimated 1.47 lakh tons for the whole year, 60,000 tons were available in the district. Another major campaign by the Ministry of Agriculture is the diversification of crops by sowing red, green and millet. Ryots are also discouraged from sowing rice, and if their soils are not bearing other crops, they are encouraged to opt for preferred varieties so that the government can source the produce in case they cannot be sold on the open market.

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