'Cold injury' wreaking havoc on seedbeds in Jashore

OUR CORRESPONDENT

BENAPOLE, Jan 04: Rural areas of Jashore have been blanketed by intense cold and dense fog, putting Boro paddy seedbeds at serious risk right at the start of the season.

Fearing heavy losses, many farmers are desperately trying to protect their seedbeds from 'cold injury' (damage caused by exposure to cold temperatures) by covering them with polythene sheets.

Monirul Islam, a Boro farmer from Ramnagar village in Jashore Sadar upazila, said, "I sowed 22 kilograms of paddy seeds, but the seedlings are turning yellow and reddish and are dying. I applied powder spray and kept water in the seedbed, but nothing is working."

Another farmer from the same area, Iqbal Hossain, said he prepared seedbeds on nearly three kathas of land. Due to the fog, the seedlings are turning yellow and red. To save them, he has covered the seedbeds with polythene, hoping this will at least provide some protection.

Shahin Hossain, another farmer, said, "In some areas, the seedlings are doing well under polythene covers, but in other areas

they are still deteriorating. Those who did not use polythene have almost lost their seedbeds. I can't understand whether this is only because of the fog or due to some other reason."

He added that he followed various formulas suggested by fertiliser dealers, but the results have not been encouraging.

Farmer Md Mannan said that compared to last year, fog and cold are much more severe this season, creating serious concern among farmers over Boro seedbeds. As a result, they are using polythene covers to protect the seedlings from fog damage.

The Department of Agricultural Extension (DAE) is advising farmers to cover seedbeds with transparent polythene to protect seedlings from intense cold. However, officials caution that the polythene should not touch the leaves of the seedlings.

Farmers are also advised to maintain three to five centimetres of water in the seedbeds and to remove dew from the leaves in the morning using hands, ropes, or sticks.

Md Mosharraf Hossain, deputy director of the DAE, Jashore, said

that the target for Boro cultivation in the district this season has been set at 157,000 hectares of land. To meet this target, seedbeds need to be prepared on about 7,595 hectares.

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