Farmers in Coimbatore urged to avoid fresh sowing during heatwave

Coimbatore: With summer temperatures shooting up day by day, the district administration has issued a detailed advisory to farmers on protecting crops from heatwave conditions and minimizing yield loss.District collector Pavankumar G Giriyappanavar said excessive heat could affect crops such as maize, sorghum, groundnut, sesame and pulses, besides flowers and fruit crops, leading to flower drop, poor fruit setting and sunburn damage. Farmers have been advised to avoid fresh sowing and transplantation activities during the heatwave period. The administration also urged farmers and agricultural labourers to avoid farm work between 11am and 3pm and carry out irrigation only during early morning or evening hours. The agriculture department has recommended drip and sprinkler irrigation systems for efficient water management. Farmers were also asked to undertake summer ploughing to help conserve rainwater in fields ahead of monsoon. To reduce heat stress in nurseries and vegetable crops, farmers have been advised to use shade-net structures. Mulching using dry leaves, coconut fibre waste and polythene sheets has also been recommended to retain soil moisture around plants and trees. The district administration encouraged farmers to adopt organic farming methods, stating that organically cultivated crops were comparatively more resilient to drought and extreme heat conditions. Crop-specific advisories were also issued. In paddy, farmers could spray 3% kaolin or 1% potassium chloride solution and apply PPFM microbial formulation. Pulse farmers were advised to use TNAU Pulse Wonder at 2kg per acre as foliar spray. For sugarcane, spraying 25% potash and 2.5% urea solution, along with trash mulching, was recommended. Groundnut farmers were advised to spray TNAU Groundnut Rich and use polythene mulching to conserve moisture. In maize, TNAU Maize Maxima could be sprayed during cob formation and grain filling stages. Tomato growers were advised to spray triacontanol solution to prevent flower drop and improve fruit setting. The collector said integrated precautionary measures could significantly reduce crop damage and help ensure stable yields despite rising temperatures.