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The latest Agro-Met advisory issued by India Meteorological Department (IMD) for five days ending Monday has warned that rubber plants in Kerala are likely to experience drought-like situation.
Farmers have been advised to stop tapping of rubber and undertake soil moisture conservation measures.
In the north, due to low temperatures in Gurdaspur and Hoshiarpur divisions of Punjab, standing Rabi vegetables has suffered cold injury.
Farmers have been advised to apply light irrigation by sprinklers in brinjal, tomato, chillies and early sown cucurbits to protect them against cold injury.
Farmers in Himachal Pradesh have been told to protect the nurseries of vegetables from cold injury by covering with polythene sheet. Dried leaves or grass or inert material may be burnt in the garden.
Due to availability of sufficient moisture in soil, farmers are advised to apply top dressing of fertilisers in wheat and barley. Low temperatures should be monitored by setting up smoke around the field.
Weather is favourable for sowing flower and fruit crops; vegetables, chillies and winter flowers in Himachal Pradesh; and transplanting of puncha rice in Kerala. Farmers are advised to undertake land preparation and sowing of these crops.
Meanwhile, an ‘active’ western disturbance would affect western Himalayan region for next five days and plains of northwest India from Sunday, and the Gangetic plains Monday and Tuesday.
Scattered rain or thundershowers with isolated hailstorm or thunder squalls would occur over Punjab, Rajasthan, Haryana, Delhi and west Uttar Pradesh.
LA NINA OUTLOOK
Current oceanic and atmospheric anomalies reflect an ongoing, mature La Nina that has begun to weaken, the Climate Prediction Centre (CPC) of the US National Weather Services said in the latest update.
Nearly all model forecasts point towards a weakening La Nina in the coming months. A majority of the models predict a return to ‘neutral’ (neither El Nino nor La Nina) conditions by May-June-July, although some models persist a weaker La Nina later into the summer, the CPC said.
The Australian Bureau of Meteorology (BoM) continued to indicate a strong, mature La Nina, although there are clear signs the event has passed its peak.
The most likely outcome is for a return to neutral conditions, but there is a chance of La Nina persisting for the rest of the year.
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