Trichy: After witnessing an unusual weather pattern for the past one week, delta farmers have expressed concern over the safety of their crops, saying the foggy condition could invite crop-eating pests to their fields.The worried residents have urged the agriculture officers to hand out suggestion on how to nip any potential pest attack in the bud. The ongoing drizzle coupled with fog might help pesky insects creep into the blooming paddy crops, they said.Blanketed in fog, the mornings could soon change into a hot day before a cold weather pattern takes over the night. This is an ideal situation for pests to damage crops, said Bharatiya Kisan Sangam spoksperson N Veerasekaran. “The same weather has been persistent across the delta districts for the past one week, posing a threat to paddy crops and vegetable plants,” Veerasekaran said.Hundreds of farmers from Lalgudi block, Manikandam, Thiruverumbur, Anthanallur and Mannachanallur have grown samba paddy on thousands of acres. The officials should keep the the farmers informed of the potential perils and prevent them from possible crop loss. As the whole paddy fields may fall prey to pest attack, farmers should take urgent measures to prevent it, he saidIf paddy crops are infected, the grain becomes sterile, the farmers’ wing of Tamil Manila Congress headed by its State organizer, Puliyur A Nagarajan said. “Gaja is the rootcause of the present climatic condition across the delta districts. The foggy mornings and cold nights have already caused damage to many paddy fields in Puliyur area last year.The agriculture department should urge famers to take preventive measures immediately, he added. This is the time crops start to bloom and thus become vulnerable to pest attack. Farmers should use urea with potash or neem. Neem based organic fertilizers are the best one to prevent the crop from any diseases, the official further stated.

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