It can prevent vegetable plants from drying up during summer, says expert

With the mercury rising in the Vellore region, the farmers and horticulturists look for alternative methods for water retention.

Majority of farmers are cultivating brinjal, lady’s finger, beans and tomato and these varieties require substantial quantum of water to give a good yield. Despite their best efforts, farmers are unable to obtain a good yield owing to summer heat. To address this issue it would be appropriate to retain the surface water for the plants to absorb them in frequent intervals apart from periodical water of plants, says a farming expert in Pernambut.

K. Rathika, a technical expert from Agro-Meteorology department, Krishi Vigyan Kendra, Vrinjipuram in Vellore, says farmers should adopt simple techniques to prevent evaporation of irrigated water from the surface soil and protect their vegetable crops.

She suggested that ‘mulching’ is best method to protect surface soil from direct sun light.

KVK advises use of pearl millet straw, mice sorghum, groundnut and coconut to retain water for more time and it would prevent the plants from drying up for more than 15 days.