Drought-wary Maha eyes monsoon revival, fears kharif crop loss this yr

A good monsoon last year could have well been an outlier for Maharashtra as the state looks headed for a drought yet again, having receivednearly 30% below normal rains so far this season.

The drought-wary state is eyeing a revival in monsoon for the remaining one and half months of the season to avert major crop loss. Even if there is a revival of monsoon this week, as predicted by India Meteorological Department, key kharif cash crops such as soybean, moong, urad, earlysown cotton, tur and jowar are not likely to recover from earlier damage, experts said.

“Kharif crops like cotton, tur, jowar and soybean may see a 50% drop inyield if the deficiency in rainfall continues this week and the next,” D.M Mankar, director of research with Dr. Panjabrao Deshmukh Krishi Vidyapeeth at Akola, said.

Soybean, moong and urad, which are in flowering or pod forming stage,will face an average 50% decline in yields in most of Amravati and Akola districts, Kailash Bajaj, an Akola-based farmer, said.

After two straight years of severe drought, Maharashtra received normal rains in 2016 and farmers reaped good harvests. This year too, rainfall in June was good, which promoted aggressive sowing.

However, the slowdown in progress of monsoon in July forced re-sowing in some areas, with another round of re-sowing in some areas of Marathwada.

Maharashtra has received 558.4 mm of rainfall since June, 29% below normal, according to the state agriculture department.

Of the eight districts in Marathwada, five have received 40-51% below-normalrainfall. Parbhani, Hingoli, Nanded, and Aurangabad districts in Marathwada have received the lowest rainfall.

In Vidarbha, six of the 11 districts received 40-53% below-normal rainfall. Not only deficiency, but uneven distribution of rainfall is a major concern for crops on the ground, Mankar said.

S.L. Jadhav, director, state agriculture department, also voiced similar concerns over yield of the sown kharif crop due to scanty rains.

Soybean, moong and urad, which are in flowering or pod forming stage,will face an average 50% decline in yields in Amravati and Akola districts, a farmer said