Spectre of drought looms large over Palamu. It is more than four weeks and there is no rain barring sharp showers in some small pockets in Palamu. There is a long dry spell in 95 per cent area of this district predicting hard times going to grip this drought prone district.
A soil scientist of Zonal Research Centre of B A U Ranchi K S Mohan said no rain is too bad Paddy shoots which look green even today are most prone to attacks by stem borer insects. Stem borer insects attack in temperature like this when rain water is not around and surface water in the field of paddy is getting evaporated due to intense sun heat.
This soil scientist feared 30 to 40 per cent farmers of paddy are seized with this problem now in Palamu and Garhwa district He said this is the ill- effect of no rain for weeks together. Mohan said people just say that their paddy shoot is drying up for want of rain water irrigational water but the fact is paddy shoots are being struck by this stem borer insects.
Mohan describes the rain water picture of Palamu as most peculiar. This soil scientist said here in Palamu there are three phases. First of intensive rains. By intensive rains, he meant torrential rains for hours . Mohan said in July this year, Palamu recorded 95 mm rainfall on just one day. For a common man it is called ‘achhi barish’ but intensive rains for hours cause erosion of sand, washing away of nitrogen potash magnesium and chlorine from the top soil besides running ofv rain water as torrential rain water hardly percolates down.
The second phase is of scanty rain fall which causes enormous hardships to farmers . The third phase is dry spell and Palamu is reeling under this dry spell which is too ominous and is a forerunner to drought here.
A large number of farmers contacted by the Pioneer in villages like Polpol, Golhana, Panki, Chainpur Tarhassi Pipra etc said they are worried about their standing paddy shoots which are being eaten up by stem borer insects.
Farmers have appealed to the agricultural minister to take up this case of paddy crops getting devastated by the stem borer.
Divisional Commissioner Palamu Ameet Kumar said, “Rains are not around. It will have serious impact on the paddy crop here. The only consolation is that this year a good number of farmers are under crop insurance. This will help these farmers in their hour of distress.”
Paddy crops on up land are more prone to vulnerable attacks by the insects than the low one. Up land temperature is a bit higher than the low one and these stem borer insect strikes where there is the waning moisture in the soil said Mohan.
No rain in these 4 weeks has devastated the staple crop maize here in Palamu already said soil scientist. Maize is eaten by poor for six months of the year here. Its loss means more hunger and more deprivation said sources.