Cotton cultivation becoming popular in Orissa's Subernpur district

Subernpur (Orissa), June 10 (ANI): Farmers in Subernpur district of Orissa have taken to cotton cultivation to augment their income.

Subernpur district is a drought prone region and the farmers are dependent on the rain for water. The land used to be parched dry for most of the year, but now they are turning to cotton cultivation.

Gopal, a farmer said that he undertook cotton cultivation a few years back to better utilise his fields.

"We have started the cotton cultivation as the fields in our village were underutilised. A few years back, the farmers from Andhra Pradesh came and cultivated cotton and taught us how to increase our yield. When we gave the idea to the local agricultural centre, they gave us the seeds and we started cultivating cotton," said Gopal.

Gangadhar Barik, an agriculture officer from Subernpur district said that the state agriculture department has promised to extend help and co-operation to cotton growers.

"We have tried to encourage farmers to take up cotton cultivation. We have provided these farmers for the first time with cotton seeds from the local agricultural centre. However, there is no cotton wholesale market here. We will requisit to the government for the same," said Barik.

Cotton is primarily grown in dry tropical and subtropical climates at temperatures between 11 degree Celsius and 25 degree Celsius. It is a warm climate crop threatened by heat or freezing temperatures (below 5 degree Celsius or above 25 degree Celsius), although its resistance varies from specie to specie.

Excessive exposure to dryness or moisture at certain stages of the plant development (lasting five to seven months) may be detrimental. By Sharda Lahangir (ANI)