The Agriculture Training Institute (ATI), Jhenidah, is now prepared to give seedlings of late T-Aman variety among the growers.
Official sources said the variety is flood-tolerant. Stagnant floodwater will not be harmful for the paddy.
The institute has grown seedlings of late T-Aman species - BR-23 on targeted one acre of land. The seedlings are now ready to be transplanted on 20 acres of land.
In the FY 1017-18, the institute sent the seedlings to deputy directors of DAE in Bagura and Dinajpur districts.
Similarly in FY 2016-17, the institute sent their produced seedlings to the deputy director of DAE, Sirajganj to be distributed among the flood-affected farmers.
This year flood did not appear devastating nowhere in the country.
So, a different policy has been taken to disburse the seedlings among the peasants.
The seedlings will be sent to farmers soon through addition director (AD), DAE, Jashore region comprising Jashore, Jhenidah, Kushtia, Chuadanga and Meherpur.
DAE field-level officers are busy making priority list.
Principal (In-charge) of the training institute agriculturist Md Abdul Kader said, "The seedlings are now set to be transplanted. We are waiting to send them to farmers immediately after getting direction from the AD, DAE, Jashore region."
BSS adds: In Rangpur, the farmers have exceeded the fixed target of farming Transplanted Aman (T-Aman) this season as transplantation of seedling still continues in Rangpur agriculture region.
Officials of the Department of Agriculture Extension (DAE) said the farmers have so far transplanted T-Aman rice seedling on 0.59 million hectares of land, exceeding the targeted land area for cultivation of the crop by 0.15 per cent.
"As transplantation of late varieties of T-Aman rice will continue till mid-September, the farmers will bring more land under its cultivation," Horticulture Specialist of the DAE Khondker Md Mesbahul Islam at its regional office said on Tuesday.
The farmers have already brought 0.59 million hectares of land under cultivation of T-Aman rice against the fixed target of bringing 0.59 million hectares of land under its farming to produce 1.63 million tonnes of clean T-Aman rice this season in the region.
"Due to inadequate rainfalls, the farmers have put 61,734 irrigation pumps, including 1,298 deep and 59,756 shallow tube wells, 198 low lift and 482 other pumps into operation for supplementary irrigation to their T-Aman fields in the region," Islam said.
Side by side with the DAE, Barind Multipurpose Development Authority, BADC and authority of the Teesta Barrage Project are assisting the farmers to ensure supplementary irrigation to make the T-Aman rice farming programme a success, he said.
Talking to the news agency, Additional Deputy Director of the DAE at its regional office Md Moniruzzaman said the farmers have become more experienced over the years in facing any situation like droughts to manage their T-Aman cultivation activities.
"The farmers are providing supplementary irrigation to their T-Aman fields using lifted underground water when and where necessary due to lack of adequate seasonal rainfalls to irrigate the growing plants of the crop," he said.
"The sky is remaining cloddy during the past couple of days with a possibility of adequate rainfalls anytime," Moniruzzaman said and hoped that T-Aman farming would not be hampered if seasonal rainfalls came down in the region.
Farmers Manik Mian of Darshona village and Aiyub Ali of village Kathihara in Sadar upazila of Rangpur and Abul Kalam of village Sibram in Sadar upazila of Kurigram said that were giving supplementary irrigation to their T-Aman crop lands when necessary.
Rice scientist Dr Md Abdul Mazid, who got Independence Award 2018 Medal (food security) this year, suggested the farmers to irrigate T-Aman fields at the beginning of hair-cracking formation to keep the root-zone wet for saving the roots from stresses.
"The farmers can use the Alternate Drying and Wetting (AWD) irrigation method for irrigating T-Aman fields to keep the root-zone wet for normal growth of tender plants to get usual yield rate of the cereal crop under the present situation," he said.
