Strong winds blow in Patna after Hudhud reached the state. Telegraph picture

Two hours of incessant rain owing to the impact of cyclone Hudhud on Tuesday night has laid waste to potato fields, leaving tillers in the lurch.

The period of sowing has lapsed and untimely showers have only added to their misery. Krityanand Nagar resident Vinay Yadav said: “Heavy rainfall on Tuesday night has destroyed the sown potatoes and we are bound to incur a loss of about 60-70 per cent of the cultivation. The plants would dry up after waterlogging and the seeds would rot.” Yadav had sown potatoes in six acres as compared to last year’s 10 acres owing to the high price of potato seeds and cultivation. He had purchased a 50kg bag of potatoes at Rs 2,100, while he sowed about 22-24 bags in each acre.

“Now, we would not be able to sow potatoes this year as time of planting has lapsed and it is financially not feasible to cultivate again, “ he added.

District agriculture officer Indrajeet Prasad Singh told The Telegraph: “We had warned the farmers about cyclone Hudhud causing heavy rainfall. We had also asked tillers to start potato farming after October 16. But several farmers had already sown potatoes in land. They have been hit hard. However, the rain only damaged fields in low-lying areas.”

Singh added: “The farmers in Purnea cultivate potatoes on around 10,000 hectares. They grow potato in two seasons — September to December and January to April. Since they get better returns in the first season, the tillers went ahead with the cultivation despite the weather warning.”

Mohammad Manzar, a resident of Dhamdaha, said: “We finished sowing and have already spent between Rs 50,000 and Rs 55,000 on each acre of land. But the showers have damaged our plants. As time has lapsed for potato cultivation and we are short of money, we have decided to sow maize. Although potato cultivation is more profitable than maize, we have no choice. We produce around 100 quintals of potato in each acre and it is a cash crop.”

A cash crop is harvested for commercial value rather than use by the grower.

Potential potato growing blocks of the district lie in Dhamdaha, Krityanand Nagar, Banmankhi and Sarsi.