Kharif season is set to conclude within a few weeks across the Rayalaseema districts. The initial high rainfall in early June raised hopes for a successful season, however, from the fourth week of June till the end of August, cultivation was challenging due to deficit rainfall in several mandals.
In the Annamayya district, release of water through the KC Canal in August provided some relief. Despite adverse conditions, close to 45% of Kadapa district and 28% of Annamayya district witnessed sowing. By the end of August, cultivation should have been fully underway, but with a deficit of 37.8 mm of the expected 96.7 mm of rainfall, the progress was hindered.
Agricultural officials said that the goal of cultivation in the combined Kadapa district is about 3.5 lakh acres, including 1.6 lakh acres in Annamayya district — with this, one-third of the land in the twin districts has been sown, leaving the rest of the land to turn fallow.
In Annamayya district, around 44,046 acres have been sown since the beginning of the Kharif season, which accounts for only 28% of the planned cultivation area. Groundnut is the primary crop, with 1,18,275 acres intended for cultivation and 1,05,844 acres sown. Rice, which should have been sown on 24,077 acres, has only been sown on 11,124 acres.
Officials observed that considering Annamayya district’s diverse geographical and climatic conditions, the potential is more for groundnut cultivation. Thus, despite the deficit rainfall, the farmers hope that the cultivation of groundnuts will pick up in the coming weeks, though the harvesting might be much delayed. A total of 16 mandals in the Annamayya district have surplus rainfall, another 10 mandals experienced normal rainfall, while four mandals faced deficient rainfall.
Published - September 04, 2024 06:51 pm IST
