Poush and Magh are the two months of winter, and the Poush cold has set in across the country. The cold may not be severe early in the month, but a cold wave may sweep in towards the end. Many farmers prepare their Boro rice seedbeds at this time, and they need to look after them properly. Here is some advice.

Cold waves are the main reason Boro rice seedlings turn yellow and dry out. Seedlings can also die from cold injury (seedling scorch) in severe cold. Extra care is essential once a cold wave begins.

• During a cold wave, cover the seedbed with clear polythene from 10am until evening. If the cold wave lasts a long time, keep the seedlings covered with polythene day and night. Leave the polythene partly open on both sides of the seedbed.
• Keep 3–5 centimetres of water in the seedbed; tube-well water is best. Drain the water from the seedbed in the morning and add fresh water. Shake off the dew that collects every morning.
• To control seedling scorch, spray the seedbed in the afternoon at the early stage of the disease with an azoxystrobin or pyraclostrobin-type fungicide, mixed at 2 millilitres per litre of water.
• If the seedlings turn yellow, apply urea at 280 grams per decimal of land. If the seedlings do not turn green even after urea, apply gypsum at 400 grams per decimal.

• Use seedlings at least 35–45 days old for transplanting. Seedlings of this age suffer lower death rates in the cold.
• If a cold wave begins at transplanting time, wait a few days and transplant once temperatures return to normal.
• If a cold wave comes after transplanting, keep 5–7 centimetres of water in the field. Transplanting with the severity of the cold and the age of the seedlings in mind keeps the seedlings healthy and gives a higher yield.

Source: Jagonews24. First published in Bengali on The Agro News.