Untimely rain damages Aman, vegetable plants in Barishal

Rain with gusty wind for the last 24 hours caused damage to Aman paddy and vegetable plants in different areas of Barishal.

The rainwater submerged paddy fields in the areas of the district.

The water from the untimely rain also got stagnant in the vegetable fields, much to the worry of growers.

“I planted Aman seedlings on three bighas of land and harvested fifty percent but the heavy shower with gusty wind caused the rest of the plants to get loosened at the bottom and lie flat on the ground,” said Mosharaf Hossain, a farmer of Sarshi village in Barishal Sadar upazila.

Ripon Molla, a vegetable grower of the same village, said the plants may die if the accumulated rainwater cannot be fully drained out from the fields quickly.

Locals said this untimely rainfall affected paddy and vegetables on vast lands, especially in low-lying areas.

Md Toufiqul Alam, deputy director of Department of Agricultural Extension (DAE) in Barishal, said almost 85 percent harvest of Aman paddy has so far been completed and the rest can be affected preliminary by rain.

Farmers have been asked to drain out the standing water from croplands, he said.

If the growers can collect paddy quickly from their affected fields, losses will be reduced, said the DAE official.