Statesman News Service MALDA, 23 NOV: Paddy cultivators in Malda district are having a tough time, thanks to the increasing presence of crabs and rats.
While crabs are digging holes on aisles constructed to hold water in plots under paddy, rats have been nipping off the paddy ears when the corn is ready for harvest. Facing loss, farmers are clueless as to how they would deal with the double menace.
According to agriculture development officials in Malda, rats damage 10 to 12 per cent paddy yield in the fields prior to and at the harvesting stage. A few varieties of high yielding paddy are in now in harvesting stage and the farmers are facing problems both from rats and crabs.
“If the farmers do not take proper measures, it will become very difficult to control the rat menace,” said Mr Soumendra Nath Das, agriculture development officer (technical), Malda.
According to him, farmers need to put up scarecrow to guard their fields. Owls can perch on it and catch rats at night. “It is one way of eliminating rats without using chemicals. The farmers can also hang chemically treated bait over the rat holes to kill the rodents. Crabs too create problems as water drains out because of the holes they dig in the aisles but rats are more harmful,” Mr Das claimed.
According to the farmers, big rats collect paddy from the fields and store it in their holes for future consumption. “It is difficult to trace the burrows,” a farmer said.
No comments:
Post a Comment