Unseasonal rain over the past few weeks submerged the cotton crop in vast areas in Tamil Nadu. Hundreds of farmers who had raised the crop on more than 5,700 hectares of land in Tiruvarur district this season are keeping their fingers crossed as the off-season rain has put paid to their hopes of a bumper harvest.
Although cotton is not the traditional crop in the Cauvery delta, its acreage in Tamil Nadu has been growing steadily as paddy farmers opted for the cash crop, which needs less water and fetches better returns.
In Tiruvarur district, remunerative returns had led many farmers in Valangaiman, Kudavasal, Koradachery, Nannilam, Kottur, and Mannargudi blocks to opt for the cotton crop knowing well the risks involved. What they never bargained for was the off-season downpour last week.
Last year, Tiruvarur cotton growers enjoyed bountiful harvest reaping between 12 and 15 quintals an acre and happily sold them for up to Rs 50 a kg.