Dense fog, cold seriously damage boro seedbeds
A boro seedbed at Boikunthapur village in Thakurgaon Sadar upazila turn brownish under the impact of persistent cold accompanied by fog in the northern region.Photo: STAR
Boro seedbeds in many areas of Thakurgaon district are getting damaged under the impact of persistent cold wave and dense fog. Farmers struggling to save the seedbeds by covering them with polythene and spraying medicines are now worried about recovery of their production cost, especially against the backdrop of low market price of paddy. During visit to different areas in Thakurgaon Sadar upazila including Salondor, Shingpara, Madarganj and Kochubari villages Wednesday this correspondent saw many farmers sowing boro seeds in their fields again as their seedbeds got damaged due to cold weather and dense fog. Farmers of five upazilas in Thakurgoan district have prepared seedbeds on 3,340 hectares of land, as there is a target of cultivating Irri-Boro paddy on 67,554 hectares of land with the production target of 2 lakh 61 thousand 716 tonnes of rice in this season, said officials of the Department of Agriculture Extension (DAE). Asraful Ali, 47, a farmer of Madarganj village under Thakurgaon Sadar upazila, said he prepared boro seedbed on eight decimals of land but a portion of it got damaged due to cold weather. “I sprayed pesticides and fungicides several times during last 20 days to save my seedbed from cold. But the paddy plants are still dying. I have sowed seeds again to get seedlings for boro cultivation on my selected land," he said. Mohammad Hafizur of Shingpara village said he has to sow seeds again to cultivate boro paddy on his lands as the seedbeds, prepared for boro cultivation on three bighas of his land, have turned yellowish and got damaged. "I sowed 20-kg of boro seeds on ten decimal of land but most of the seedlings have been damaged due to cold weather. I am now worried about recovery of the high production cost as the market price of paddy is low," said Ismail Hossain of the same village. Belayet Hossain, deputy director of Thakurgaon DAE, said boro seedbeds in some villages of the district are affected due to severe cold weather but it will be recovered if the weather improves shortly. "Farmers are advised to water seedbeds at night, cover them with polythene and use proper fertiliser. After maintaining this, if needed, farmers can spray Thiovit to save their Irri-Boro seedbeds from cold injuries," he said. "When the weather becomes sunny, farmers can apply top dressing on affected seedbeds with a mixture of 280-gram urea and 100-gram potash per decimal of land to help the seedlings get back normalcy," he added. He claimed that the production target will not be hampered as such situation arises in the northern districts every winter.
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