As the disease would spread fast, farmers faced the danger of losing the entire crops, he said. The department stopped distributing BPT 5204 seeds and cut the subsidy but farmers get them from private dealers, they said. The farmers, instead, could go for CO 51, a short duration drought resistant variety developed at the paddy breeding centre in Coimbatore last year and introduced in the district as breeder seeds to benefit the farmers, the officials said. The department has adequate stock of CO 51 and NLR 34449 varieties and they were distributed to the farmers at subsidised rates, they said. Farmers raised paddy in about 1.70 lakh hectares in the district, mostly through direct sowing, ahead of the north east monsoon.

Source: The Hindu August 20, 2017 12:41 UTC