Karnataka: Recurrent rainfall leaves farmers in a lurch as crops get infected

Impaired by the recurring change in weather and heavy rainfall which was followed by a breakout of fungal infection, the Toor Dal (Pigeon pea) crop in Karnataka's Kalaburagi offers little hope to the farmers of the district this year. Farmers said the yield of the crop has been severely affected due to unseasonal weather and excessive rainfall particularly in the month of November. Heavy rains had lashed out in parts of Karnataka in the month of October and November. A local farmer, Umesh Kumar who cultivated  Toor Dal in almost 9 acres of his farmland told ANI that the plants have dried up from the roots and the pulses have turned black.

"I have planted it in 9 acres of land but due to heavy rainfall the crop is almost ruined. It has turned black. Also, there is heavy dew in the morning causing damage to the crop. The plants are desiccating from the roots, the buds are falling and farmers are worried as the yield is expected to be very low this year," said Kumar.

A scientist at Kalaburagi Krishi Vigyan Kendra, Zaheer Ahmed said thatToor Dal is affected due to the unseasonal weather and for one week there was full cloudy weather, for another week there was rain and sunlight another week. 

"Last week, heavy precipitation and dew formation have adversely affected buds at the flowering stage. Farmers told that outbreak of the leaf spot disease and fungal infection is expected to lead to huge loss of the crop," he added.

READ: IMD: Odisha, West Bengal to receive heavy rainfall due to "Bulbul"

READ: IMD Bhubaneshwar: Rainfall likely over north districts of Odisha

AI Tool can now help farmers protect their crops

A brand new Artificial Intelligence tool has been developed for farmers in Africa. It can predict near-term crop productivity for farmers through their smartphones. The AI assistant called 'PlantVillage Nuru' can now help the farmers in the protection of their staple crops such as maize, cassava, and beans and will also diagnose crop diseases. The Penn State researchers also tested the application which was initially made for farmers in Africa to preserve their crops, and have concluded that the application shows twice as good results as human experts. Further, the app is also known to increase the productivity of the farmers. 

READ: 'Bulbul' triggers heavy rainfall, uproots trees in Odisha

READ: Delhi: AQI falls back to 'very poor' category despite rainfall

(With Inputs from ANI)