A near 25-40 % drop in rainfall in the key Rice
growing districts of Gangetic West Bengal so far during this year is likely to
impact the paddy transplantation activity this Kharif season.
Transplantation is the process of transferring
seedlings, which are Grown in seed-beds, into the field soaked with plenty of
water. Typically, the process of transplantation begins by July 10.
According to a senior official in the State
agriculture department, nearly 10-15 % of paddy transplantation is usually
achieved by this time of the year. However, this year, transplantation has been
lower in most paddy producing parts of the State.
“Only 5% of the transplantation work has taken
place at Burdwan while in Birbhum and Nadia, it is still lower at just about
1-2 %,”. West Bengal produces about 14.5 million tonnes of paddy each year in 3
seasons — Aus, Aman and Boro. The kharif paddy (aus and aman) output accounts
for about 70 % of paddy production in the state. Delayed transplantation could
affect the productivity and quality of the crop.
Burdwan – considered to be the Rice Bowl of the
State received 25 % lower rains than average this year. Rainfall has also been
lower by 39 % in Birbhum, 31 % in Nadia and 27 % in Hooghly, according to a
data provided by Express Weather. These 4 districts are considered to be
high productivity areas in terms of paddy cultivation.
The districts of North 24-Parganas, Murshidabad,
Bankura, Malda, East Midnapur, West Midnapur, North Dinajpur, South Dinajpur
and Howrah are considered to be medium productivity areas. Except for Bankura,
North 24 Parganas and North Dinajpur, rainfall is lower by 20-40 % in the other
districts falling under the medium productivity areas.
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