Incessant rain lashing Telangana for about a week now has badly impacted the cultivation of kharif crops as the sowing/transplantation of various crops is less by about 16.28 lakh acres by the end of July second week compared to the same time last year.
Not only that but the widespread heavy rain has also damaged standing crops, most of which are in the initial plant growth stage, badly with large extents getting silted or inundated. Rains for over week now have also impacted the progress of sowing operation with the recommended time for sowing of cotton, soybean, jowar, maize, greengram and blackgram almost coming to an end as delayed sowing would have the threat of rains during the harvesting period.
According to the Met Department officials, the State had recorded an average of over 291 mm rain in a matter of just one week from July 7. Cultivation of Kharif crops has been taken in about 53.8 lakh acres so far this season as against 70.08 lakh acres covered by the same period last year. “Rains have interrupted the sowing operations almost completely for a week now and it would definitely have an impact on the extent limiting the chances of reaching the planned extent of 70 lakh acres with cotton alone”, a senior agriculture official said.
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Cotton has been been sown in about 38.48 lakh acres so far and its sowing from now on would have an adverse impact on its yield and production. Although the opposition Congress and BJP demanded payment of compensation to farmers to take up cultivation afresh as the investment made already has been washed away in rains, the estimation of crop damage is yet to be taken up.
“We can take up the assessment of damage with siltation, wash-out, flooding and inundation of standing crops along with chance of their revival with draining out of water could be taken up only after the rains recede and stop”, the official said adding that sowing in completely damaged crop field could be taken up only after the soil gets suitably dry. The chances of revival of damaged crops are less as they are still in the initial plant growth stage.
The official admitted that rain damage on crops such as cotton, soybean, maize, jowar, greengram and blackgram would be high and the farmers having irrigation source could now mostly prefer either paddy or other irrigated-dry crops.
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