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Even as the South-West Monsoon withdraws from North-West India, continuing rains to the south of the Vindhyas are seen spoiling the harvest of kharif crops such as maize, pulses and cotton, while boosting the prospects for the upcoming rabi season.
Farmers in parts of Telangana, Karnataka and Maharashtra are likely to bear the brunt of the ongoing rains, especially since a low-pressure area developing in the Bay of Bengal promises to bring even more rains to East and Central India in the next fortnight.
The monsoon began withdrawing on September 27, but its pullout has been slow: in fact, it is the second slowest since 2009. The process typically takes nearly a month, and the farming community considers an extension of the rains beyond the traditional four-month period as unwelcome.
Untimely rains IN Telangana have hit maize and jowar, said Sagar, a State Executive member of the Telangana Rythu Sangham. “We are yet to assess the losses,” he said. Besides, the rains have delayed the harvest of cotton and other crops.
In Karnataka, it has been raining almost daily, helping fill up water bodies in the drought-affected State. “The latest rain spell is unusual and is hurting the standing crops like tur (arhar). Water-logging is resulting in diseases such as root-rot and stem-rot in some areas. At least a fourth of the crop may have been affected,” said Basavaraj Ingin, President of the Karnataka Pulses Growers Association in Gulbarga, the main tur-growing region in the State.
The forecast of heavy rainfall and thunderstorm in Marathwada and Konkan regions of Maharashtra till October 14 has prompted State Agricuture Minister Pandurang Fundkar to ask farmers to protect their harvested crop. “The kharif crops have been harvested and some farmers have left them in the field. The rains may damage the harvested crop and cause losses; farmers are advised to shift their produce to safer locations,” Fundkar was quoted as saying.
In its first advance estimates, the Centre had projected that kharif output would be 3 per cent lower than last year due to erratic rainfalls. The monsoon has ended with a 5 per cent deficit this year, but the latest spell of rains is seen boosting the prospects for winter crops such as gram, wheat and jowar.
(With inputs from KV Kurmanath in Hyderabad)
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