Rains revive kharif hopes in Telangana

With moderate to heavy rains lashing Telangana in the last ten days, the kharif hopes of farmers have been revived. After facing deficient rainfall for weeks, farmers are trying to recover the lost ground.

According to the lastest reports, the rainfall deficit has now narrowed to 19 per cent from 60-70 per cent in several districts. The State received 302 mm so far in the season as against the normal level of 373.4 mm.

Rain shortfall

Despite copious rains, nearly half of the 33 districts still fall in the rainfall deficit category. Water levels in several reservoirs are below the normal levels.

Most crops, barring cotton, soya, redgram, sugarcane and turmeric, still report lesser sowing area than last year’s. Cotton has almost reached the normal acreage of 17.25 lakh hectares, while turmeric is covered in 44,451 hectares as against last year’s 47,048 hectares.

Paddy still lags behind at 3.16 lakh hectares as against last year’s as-on-date area of 4.87 lakh hectares. Maize farmers completed sowing in 3.30 lakh hectares (4.14 lakh ha).

With a coverage of 1.67 lakh ha (1.77 lakh ha), soyabean too is going to reach the average area. Overall, the foodgrain crops are currently sown in 10.10 lakh hectares as against 12.83 lakh hectares around the same time last year.

Chillies fared very badly with a sowing coverage of 3,374 hectares compared with 10,000 hectares last year.

Meanwhile, incessant rains in some districts resulted in flooding of crops. The extent of loss is yet to be estimated as rains continue to lash in some areas.

Fall Armyworm found

The Agriculture Department has received reports of Fall Armyworm in maize crop in Mahboobnagar, Gadwal and Khammam districts. “The incidence, however, is below the economic threshold level,” an official said.

Reports of pink bollworm attack in cotton too was reported from Gadwal and Sircilla districts. The incidence in this case too was below the ETL.

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