Patna: The delayed arrival of monsoon has started showing its effect on paddy cultivation, the main kharif crop of Bihar.

Against a target of preparing paddy nursery in 3,40,000 hectares this season, the actual achievement till June 20 stood at 99,054 hectares, which is 29.13 per cent of the target.

Paddy nurseries are important because unlike other major crops, paddy plants are first prepared in nurseries and after some time these are transplanted in the paddy fields. Delay in nursery preparation leads to delayed transplantation which hits productivity.

Explaining the problem caused by the delayed monsoon, an expert in the agriculture department said: "While cultivation of medium and short duration of paddy varieties has not been hit by it, the case of long duration varieties has certainly become an issue because delay in transplantation would lead to reduced productivity."

The long duration paddy variety has a maturity period of around 150 days whereas that of medium and short duration varieties is 130 to 140 days and 100 to 110 days, respectively. As far as share of these three varieties is concerned, the long duration varieties is grown in about 30 per cent of the total paddy area whereas the medium duration varieties are cultivated in about 35 to 40 per cent area and in the remaining area, short duration varieties are grown. Bihar is aiming for paddy cultivation on around 34 lakh hectares of land with a rice production target of 102 lakh metric tonnes.

Vaishali farmer Sanjiv Kumar said: "While the input cost has gone up due to use of pumping sets for preparing the nursery, lack of moist environment is not allowing proper growth of seedlings."

Agriculture minister Prem Kumar said: "We are providing diesel subsidy to farmers for nursery preparation and Rs 60 crore would be sent to districts within a week."

Under the diesel subsidy scheme, farmers get Rs 37 per litre of diesel and they are given 10 litres of diesel for preparing one acre of nursery. The subsidy is given for two irrigation and one farmer can avail it for a maximum of five acres of land.

Amid this step of the agriculture department, the Patna Met office on Thursday maintained that the monsoon was likely to reach Bihar latest by June 26 or even before that.

"The conditions have become favourable and in the next 48 hours thunder related events would take place after which the intensity of rain would increase. Monsoon would reach the state latest by June 26 or even before that," Patna Met office scientist Anand Shankar said.

He said now the possibility of heat wave-like conditions was very thin and the temperature would be around 40°C in the next 48 hours and after that it would decrease due to the rain.