Dense fog damages boro seedbeds
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Dense fog amid winter has caused considerable damage to boro paddy seedbeds in different areas across Jashore region.
Seedlings were seen fading and turning yellow-reddish in colour, and eventually dying. In some places, seedlings did not germinate in the seed beds.
Farmers were seen desperately trying to protect the seedlings by covering the seedbeds with polythene, sprinkling ash, and spraying medicine in some places.
They expressed concern that the seedlings would be completely damaged before those could be planted to crop fields.
The sun has not been visible amid the severe cold since Friday. The average temperature in Jashore was 10.8 degrees Celsius from Sunday, according to the meteorological office in Jashore.
"Due to dense fog in the last few days, my paddy seedlings are turning yellow. I have been trying to protect those with polythene sheets. If the situation persists, the seedlings will be damaged in the seed beds," said A Rahman, a farmer in Jashore Sadar upazila.
"If the fog remains intense and the temperature falls below 10 degrees in winter, the paddy seedlings are affected. The temperature in Jashore is above 10 degrees at the moment," said Sushant Kumar Tarafdar, deputy director of Department of Agricultural Extension in Jashore.
In order to protect the seeds planted using conventional method, the DAE official recommended to drain water from the fields during daytime and cover seed beds with polythene until the sun rises, while irrigating the lands at night.
The DAE has a target of cultivating boro paddy on 1,60,500 hectares of land in Jashore this year, including Ufshi variety on 1,30,000 hectares and hybrid varieties on 30,500 hectares.
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