Agro technologists advocate direct sowing this samba season, farmers urge govt. to issue advisory

Experts have stressed on the importance of direct sowing as it allows for optimum use of water in delta districts. | Photo Credit: FILE PHOTO With water for irrigation to be released from the Stanley Reservoir at Mettur on Tuesday, the Tamil Nadu Agro Technologists Association has advised farmers to go in for direct sowing to conserve water during the samba season.The association, comprising retired officials of the Agriculture and allied departments, faculty of Tamil Nadu Agriculture University and experts, while welcoming the State government’s decision to open the dam for irrigation on September 1, stressed on the importance of farmers to use the available water sparingly.The advisory, drawn up in consultation with a team of experts of the association, including P. Kalaivananan, P. Venkatesan, V. Palaniappan, Santhana Gopala Krishnan and Kathiresan, pointed out that the current storage of about 45 tmc (thousand million cubic) ft of water at Mettur dam and the current inflow from Karnataka could be meet the irrigation requirement of the delta till October 15.“Normally, the northeast monsoon should set in by October 15. But experts have predicted that the country, especially south India, could face severe heat and heavy floods due to the effect of Super El Nino phenomenon. Farmers should be aware of this and keep in mind that the availability of water from Mettur could be less during the season,” they said.Hence, it would be advisable for farmers to go in for direct sowing in fields which have been ploughed instead of the traditional method of raising nursery which would require more water. “Farmers were advised to avoid long duration varieties and go for medium duration (135-140 days) varieties and the seeds should be sown to germinate before the end of September,” said association secretary S. Eswar.However, P.R. Pandian, president, Coordination Committee of All Farmers Associations of Tamil Nadu, said direct sowing might not be feasible in many parts of delta as farmers had not been able to plough their fields in the absence of rain. “Only if there is moisture in the soil we can plough the field and go for direct sowing. But there has been no rain and the fields are dry,” he said.Ideally, the Mettur dam should have been opened after the water level touched 100 feet. But now that the government had decided to release water, there seems to be lack of clarity among the administrators. Farmers were unclear whether they could raise nurseries or go for direct sowing and which variety should they go for. The government should come out with a detailed advisory to give some clarity to the farmers, he said. Published - August 31, 2026 06:19 pm IST