The Hindu Business Line : Crops in Telangana face withering

Crops in over four lakh hectares, mostly in the Telangana region, face the threat of withering as monsoon rains continue to elude for over a month. "They face withering if there is no rainfall in the next 10 days," Ms Poonam Malakondaiah, Commissioner for Agriculture, said.

Of the 78 lakh hectares of the normal kharif area, 52 lakh hectares were sown under rain-fed conditions. And of this, sowings were completed in 20 lakh hectares by July 5. With a deficit of 23 per cent in rainfall, these crops now face threat if rains do not appear in the next one or two weeks.

Addressing a press conference here on Thursday, she said besides the no-show of rains, high wind velocity and high temperatures, particularly in the Telangana region, took moisture away from the soil, affecting mostly pulses and maize.

BREAK-UP

Of the four lakh hectares that faced withering in case of no rains in the next 10 days, Nalgonda topped the list with 97,000 hectares, followed by Karimnagar with 77,000 hectares and Medak with 60,000 hectares.

Dr Raji Reddy, Principal Scientist (AgroMet) at Acharya N G Ranga Agricultural University (ANGRAU), said the next three days too held no promise for rains. He, however, hinted at the prospect of rains later.

Contingency plan

Faced with a grim situation, the Department had prepared a contingency plan. "We are geared up to scenarios like no-rain by July 20, July 30, August 15 or August 30," Ms Malakondaiah said.

"We will depute our officials to all the affected villages from this week to take stock of the situation and advise the farmers to go for alternative crops that can face the hostile weather conditions," she said.

The Department would move 26,000 quintals of seeds that would be given at subsidised rates.

"There is no cause to get panic," she said.

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