Farmers’ woe over grain filling problem in maize is at high, in the rabi corn areas of Bihar. There have been expert opinions over the issue, blaming climatic conditions as well as the quality of seeds. Some aggressive farmers have warned of mass agitations unless major revamping measures are taken. Nevertheless, the topic has generated debate among the government officials, private company’s representatives, scientists and advanced farmers. Now, we can hope few politicians to put icing on the cake. For a while, without adding much spice to the talk, I would like to go through scientific reasons behind the problem.
Maize, being a monocious plant has separated sexes among its flowering structures. Male inflorescence, tassels which crown the plant at stem apex shed its pollen grains on the hair of female inflorescence called, Cob or ear to fertilize and produce grains inside the cob. Any hindrance in the process will affect the fertilization process and hence, Cob will be devoid of grains. And the same has been witnessed in the regions of rabi maize in Bihar. Dr. Ajay kumar, maize scientist from Tirhut Agriculture College had warned about the problems in pollination due to low temperature that prevailed during the month of January, 2010. An average of 7-8 degree Celsius has been noticed in the tirhut region during the first and second week of January, while 5-6 degree Celsius was in Koshi region for the same period. The average temperature suitable for the growth of maize is 15-35 degree Celsius. Any temperature beyond the limit is known to affect the normal growth of the maize crop. This year, low temperature has adversely affected the pollination making the pollens sterile and hence resulting inefficient fertilization. To combat the situation, proper irrigation may help in increasing the soil temperature and efficient fertilizer doses supplement the resistivity of plants to fight against the adverse conditions. Those farmers who have taken the crop after 25th of October else have maintained good irrigation and balanced nutrient doses have escaped the situation. The fact being proved by the statement of Mr. Manoj Kedia (kishan Shri, Purnea), who expresses the importance of timely sowing of crop to avoid being caught in low temperature during pollination period, as it takes 90-95 days after sowing for pollination to initiate. If the recommendation of the scientists would have been disseminated on time, farmers might have escaped the devastation.
It is an alarming situation, where farmers are constantly hit by climatic deviations and give rise to debates for no good of farmers. Need of the hour is to analyze the scenario and take necessary steps to alleviate the farmers plight. Revamping extension setup is must to avoid any such instances, so that timely and effective dissemination of crop meteorological advices are available to farmers.
