Heavy rains spoil prospects of kharif crops in Gujarat Prolonged heavy rains in parts ofGujarat has cast a shadow on the agricultural production in the state. Even after witnessing a robust kharif sowing this year, continuous rains since September 21 has hampered the prospects of several crops including pulses and dals like tur and urad.According to agriculture experts, flooding caused by heavy rainfall in the regions of south, central Gujarat and Saurashtra has affected bajra, jowar, maize and guar crops in the state."There is heavy damage in farms due to constant rains and water logging. There are fears of damage to guar, which was already harvested in some parts," said Praful Senjalia of Bhartiya Kisan Sangh (BKS). Farmer sources informed that crops such as bajra and maize would also be affected due to heavy rains in Saurashtra and central Gujarat region.Continuous rainfall in the south Gujarat region has raised serious concerns over the crops of pulses. The districts including Surat, Narmada, Bharuch, Vapi, Valsad, Vadodara, Dahod and Panchmahals have witnessed heavy downpour since September 21.All these districts hold around 90 per cent of the area under pulses cultivation in the state. Out of the 2,35,000 hectares of area under tur cultivation (for kharif 2013-14) nearly 92 per cent falls in these districts. The area under urad cultivation is 86,300 hectares this year. Heavy rainfall in these regions led to overflowing of rivers Tapi, Narmada, Vishwamitri and Mahi, leading to flooding of the fields."The fields are flooded with rainwater. Pulses especially tur and urad are such crops, which can be damaged if water remains in the fields for a longer period. The recent continuous rains in these regions have raised concerns about the crop. And if it continues for a day or two more, there may be some damage," said B R Shah, director of Agriculture, Government of Gujarat.Further, a farmer also noted that sesame crop may also get hampered as it requires clear sunny weather at this time. Cloudy weather for prolonged period may affect production. Also, sugarcane crushing is feared to get delayed by about a fortnight due to heavy rainfall. "There may be a delay of 10-15 days for sugar factories in this region to start crushing. Normally we begin it from first week of October. But this time it may be late as the overall monsoon has extended more than anticipated," said Mansinh Patel, president of state sugarcane co-operative body. State authorities informed that damage could be huge but estimates are yet to be made. "It appears there could be much damage to cattle and crops. But presently our priority is evacuation and rehabilitation," said Vinod Rao, collector, Vadodara.Total kharif sowing stood at 8.79 million hectares till September 16. The sowing of Bajra, jowar, maize and guarseed is reported at 3,43,600 ha, 35,400 ha, 3,42,700 ha and 4,72,600 ha respectively in the state.On the other hand agriculture experts believe the rains have turned advantageous for paddy. Nearly 98 per cent of paddy cultivation is done in central and south Gujarat region.This year, paddy sowing is recorded at 7,87,500 hectares, higher by around 8 per cent from last year. Also for cotton and groundnut crops, the recent spell of rainfall is beneficial, experts noted.
Posted on: Thu, 26 Sep 2013 14:52:23 +0000
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