C T Online Desk: The ongoing cold wave coupled with dense fog that has been sweeping across the country is affecting different seasonal crops and Boro seedlings.
Dense fog and severe cold waves can potentially hamper the growth of different crops, including Boro seedlings. Boro seedlings can turn yellow and subsequently die in severely cold weather.
Mustard, lentils and grass peas can be attacked by the fungus during severe cold, tomatoes and potatoes may be affected by late blight diseases, the battle leaf may fall and mango flowers may get damaged during a cold wave, according to the Department of Agriculture Extension (DAE).
Farmers of different northern and western districts saidlate blight disease has appeared in potato fields in different parts of the area due to heavy fog like overnight rain. The leaves are rotting and the plant is dying due to the fungus.
For the same reason ‘cold injury’ has occurred in Boro seedbeds and the plant is dying, said Ripon Hossain, a farmer from Rangpur.
Farmers are spraying fungicides in potato fields and covering their seed beds with polythene to protect boro seedlings from the fog. Sometimes, the process is not saving their seedbeds and potato, farmers said. Farmers have been asked to protect their seedlings from the cold by covering those with polythene in the daytime to increase temperature, but open at night.
If the cold wave and fog could be extended, then the farmers asked to use insecticide and the boro seed belt has been poured with water.
Badal Chandra Biswas, director general of the DAE, told the Daily Sun that the farmers save their crops by applying polythene and different early measure.
Though the small seedbeds of boro are affected a little, the break of cold waves and fog also helps farmers to save their crops, he said, adding that this year the level of adverse effect is little.
Suruj Mollah, a farmer at Kumarkhali in Kushtia, told the Daily Sun that he is worried about his boro field as the seedlings have turned yellow due to the fog and cold wave.
The DAE has fixed to produce 2.03 crore tonnes of rice from 48.66 lakh hectares of land.
The country is shivering with freezing cold which left hundreds infected with various cold-related diseases.
If the intensity of the cold wave increases, it will badly affect the crop output, agricultural experts said.
The country may witnesses another one or two spells of severe cold this month, the Met office has predicted earlier.
