Western Swamphen suspected to be damaging transplanted crop in fields by way of evening. Farmers search assist of Department of Agriculture and ICAR
The broken fields of Macazana. The suspected western Swamphen chook behind the menace and the service supplier displaying the broken seedlings.
Photo Credits: Santosh Mirajkar
MARGAO
Beleaguered farmers in Macazana and adjoining villages discover themselves in a decent spot over the harm and destruction to their not too long ago transplanted paddy for the brand new season.
Take observe, pests usually are not the trigger behind the harm brought about to the transplanted crop, however the suspects are migratory birds, leaving the fields devastated, liable for the menace. Under the scanner of the farmers is the migratory chook, Western Swamphen, which they think is behind the destruction brought about to the transplanted paddy.
If the farmers are to be believed, the darkish blue colored chook descends into the fields round twilight earlier than it begins by reducing the seedlings, leaving them destroyed.
A service supplier and farmer, Valentino Rodrigues had a bitter expertise with the chook as giant tracts of transplanted paddy have been discovered destroyed in Macazana alone. He together with Macazana villagers confirmed to ‘The Goan’ how tracts of paddy fields have been broken by the migrant chook.
“We had just completed the work of transplanting paddy in Macazana village, but we were shocked to find the seedlings cut. Normally, we take a round of the fields the very next day to see the condition of the seedlings after the transplantation. We have been taken aback by the extent of the seedlings cut down and destroyed,” he mentioned.
He added: “When we did a study to find out the cause behind the sudden destruction, we reached the conclusion that it is the handiwork of the migratory bird Western Swamphen, the dark blue coloured bird. Our information revealed that the bird descends at the fields around twilight and causes destruction throughout the night. The bird then flies to the adjoining water bodies.”
Pointing out that he had carried out mechanical transplantation of paddy on a discipline admeasuring 6,000 sq. metres, Valentino claimed that half the paddy cultivation has been broken. “This is now happening for the last couple of days. Farmers of neighbouring villages have also claimed a similar situation,” he mentioned.
Taking no possibilities, Valentino has introduced the weird state of affairs to the discover of the Director of Agriculture, Neville Alphonso for intervention and to avoid wasting the farmers from losses. “We do not know whether the agriculture department will have a solution as it is not possible to cover a huge area with a net,” he mentioned, including that the Agriculture Director has promised all the assistance to the farmers.
He additional mentioned he has requested the Agriculture Director to rope within the Indian Council for Agricultural Research (ICAR) to conduct an in depth research of the state of affairs and discover a resolution.
“We feel that the lakes constitute the nesting place for these migratory birds. We do not find the presence of the birds during the daytime. It was only around twilight that the birds descended in the fields,” he mentioned.
He added: “Our interactions with the farmers have revealed that the birds have not only eaten and damaged the baby plants but even grown-up seedlings are affected. Some of the farmers had installed effigies in the fields but in vain. The newly cultivated fields resemble barren fields now.”
Salcete ZAO to examine fields; Forest dept, ICAR additionally alerted
Taking cognizance of the plight of farmers, Director of Agriculture Neville Alphonso has instructed the Salcete Zonal Agricultural Officer to go to the affected agricultural fields at Macazana for an on-the-spot inspection of the agricultural fields.
The Director expressed his concern over the state of affairs expressed by the beleaguered farmers. “I have told our Salcete ZAO Sheriff Furtado to inspect the fields early next week. Since the issue also falls in the domain of the Forest Department given that the farmers have suspected birds behind the menace, we will also involve the forest officials and officials of the ICAR after the inspection by our ZAO,” Alphonso mentioned.
Saying that web lure isn’t an answer to curb the menace, the Agriculture Director mentioned that sound traps may very well be an possibility, which might be evaluated after the inspections by the Forest and ICAR officers.
