State expects bumper yield of paddy, maize

State expects bumper yield of paddy, maize Archit Watts
Tribune News Service

Jammu, October 6
With a favourable monsoon this season, the Agriculture Department is expecting bumper yield of summer crops paddy and maize. The monsoon, which had arrived well before its scheduled time this year in the state, proved extremely good for the growth of both these crops. There was nearly 900mm of rain during the rainy season.
SS Jamwal, Joint Director, Agriculture Department, said: “This year, we had distributed hybrid seeds to farmers, which have given good results. As per a fresh survey, the crops are ready for harvest and the total sowing area of these two crops has increased as compared to the past.”
“This season, paddy was sown in 1.12 lakh hectares in Jammu division, which is expected to give a yield of 2.05 lakh metric tonnes,” he added.
About the maize crop, Jamwal said it was sown in 2.08 lakh hectares and was expected to give a yield of 4.2 lakh metric tonnes in Jammu division.
Hopeful of getting a bumper yield this year, the farming community is also in a joyous mood. “The timely rains and advisories of the Agriculture Department have given us a good result. The harvest season has started and the quality of grain is much better than the previous years,” said Dharam Singh, a paddy grower at Dablehar village.
Another farmer, Suraj Sharma, at Bishnah said: “The short spell of rains proved good for maize, as longer rains can prove detrimental to the crop.”
Meanwhile, Ajay Khajuria, Director, Agriculture Department, said: “In the past few years, we have done extensive work in seed development and farming practices. The favourable monsoon and hard work of farmers, field officers have given a boost to the production.”
The next year, the department will take some more initiatives to improve the quality of paddy and maize, he added.
RICH HARVEST: Labourers work at a paddy field near RS Pura in Jammu. Tribune photo: Inderjeet Singh