Ranchi: The Met office on Wednesday said a heatwave is likely in Bokaro, Dhanbad, Jamtara and Dumka districts on Thursday and Friday.It also issued a yellow warning of thunderstorm/lightning and gusty winds (30-40 kmph) at isolated places over the eastern part of the state on Friday and over northeastern, southern and central parts on Saturday.The heat during the day, comparatively cooler nights and thunderstorms coupled with hailstorm in some pockets are posing a threat to standing summer crops, experts said.Sanyat Misra, head of the department of Horticulture at Birsa Agricultural University (BAU), Ranchi, said various crops such as tomato, brinjal, cucumber, various types of gourds and pumpkin may get spoiled due to the rising temperatures and lack of rain. “If farmers can’t provide proper water for their crops, they could lose their produce,” said Misra.Associate professor in the same department at BAU, Abdul Majid Ansari, said that water management by farmers is very crucial at this point of time. “Farmers can place shade nets over the crops to save them from wilting. The shade nets are cheap and reduce exposure to sunlight by 50%,” he said.He said that farmers can also opt for crops that can tolerate heat to some extent. A local brinjal variety called ‘jethua’, which is cultivated in Palamu, can be grown in extreme heat, he added.
