MULTAN:Rain received in Multan and its surroundings early Friday freshened up the atmosphere and would prove to be beneficial for vegetables, pulses, fodder crops and orchards.
Local Met. Office said that city and its surroundings received 2.2mm rain early Friday morning.
Agriculture spokesman said in a statement that the rain not only swept away the dirt particles from atmosphere but also washed it away from plant leaf that had greatly compromised the food formation process (Photosynthesis process) in plants. Consequently, its impact would be improved production from wheat, sugarcane, maize, vegetables, fodder, gram, Masoor crops and orchards.
Rain also made water available to soil and plants and Nitrogen in the atmosphere reached the crops.
However, the spokesman said that weeds grow in abundance after rain and farmers must adopt measures to control them. Rain triggers new early flowering in mango trees but it also brings risks of bacterial infection and Anthracnose disease attack that leaves black spots on new flowers. To control this, farmers should apply anti-fungal spray of copper at the rate of 250 gram in 100 litres of water. Addition of 125 gram antibiotic would make the mixture more effective, the spokesman advised.
Rains also trigger risks of disease attack on vegetables cultivated in tunnels, spokesman said and advised farmers to keep inspecting their crops and consult agriculture officials for remedial measures in case of any problem.