News: crops

Statistically 9264 hectares of subsidiary crops comprising cowpea, green gram, undu and fruits in Jaffna, Vavuniya, Kilinochchi, and Mullativu districts have been destroyed by rain and floods. The worst affected were Undu cultivations in the Vavuniya district. Deputy Director of Agriculture, Northern Province, M Vasikaran said 6400 hectares of undu in Vavuniya had been destroyed. He said that owing to this damage, farmers who cultivated subsidiary crops in the Yala season were facing hardships now. The deputy director said the grains affected by floods on the verge of being harvested had been rendered useless. Meanwhile, papaw cultivation in the North has been affected by an unidentified blight causing damage to the root system of the trees that collapse with the fruits. Agricultural officers said the inclement weather had resulted in the blight.