Deprecated (16384): The ArrayAccess methods will be removed in 4.0.0.Use getParam(), getData() and getQuery() instead. - /home/brlfuser/public_html/src/Controller/ArtileDetailController.php, line: 73
 You can disable deprecation warnings by setting `Error.errorLevel` to `E_ALL & ~E_USER_DEPRECATED` in your config/app.php. [CORE/src/Core/functions.php, line 311]
Deprecated (16384): The ArrayAccess methods will be removed in 4.0.0.Use getParam(), getData() and getQuery() instead. - /home/brlfuser/public_html/src/Controller/ArtileDetailController.php, line: 74
 You can disable deprecation warnings by setting `Error.errorLevel` to `E_ALL & ~E_USER_DEPRECATED` in your config/app.php. [CORE/src/Core/functions.php, line 311]
Warning (512): Unable to emit headers. Headers sent in file=/home/brlfuser/public_html/vendor/cakephp/cakephp/src/Error/Debugger.php line=853 [CORE/src/Http/ResponseEmitter.php, line 48]
Warning (2): Cannot modify header information - headers already sent by (output started at /home/brlfuser/public_html/vendor/cakephp/cakephp/src/Error/Debugger.php:853) [CORE/src/Http/ResponseEmitter.php, line 148]
Warning (2): Cannot modify header information - headers already sent by (output started at /home/brlfuser/public_html/vendor/cakephp/cakephp/src/Error/Debugger.php:853) [CORE/src/Http/ResponseEmitter.php, line 181]
Notice (8): Undefined variable: urlPrefix [APP/Template/Layout/printlayout.ctp, line 8]latest-news-updates/rain-hits-mustard-wheat-chickpea-crop-in-north-and-central-states-harish-damodaran-4675472.html"/> LATEST NEWS UPDATES | Rain hits mustard, wheat, chickpea crop in north and central states -Harish Damodaran | Im4change.org
Resource centre on India's rural distress
 
 

Rain hits mustard, wheat, chickpea crop in north and central states -Harish Damodaran
-The Indian Express

 

New Delhi: Unseasonal rainfall accompanied by strong winds is seen to have caused significant damage to the standing rabi crop across North and Central India, adding to the woes of farmers already battling low price realisations and urea shortages.

"These rains aren't beneficial for 90 per cent of the wheat, mustard or chana (chickpea) now in the fields. They may be useful only to the wheat that was sown late (in December, as against the normal time before November 25)," said J S Sandhu, deputy director-general (crop science) at the Indian Council of Agricultural Research.

The wheat crop in North India is either at the flowering or "early dough" stage when starch accumulation in the kernel has just begun. In Central India, grain filling is already at its peak, with the crop approaching maturity and ready to be harvested in 10 days or so.

"This is not the time for rain, but for sunshine to enable proper grain formation," noted Sandhu, adding that "we are still awaiting ground reports to assess the extent of damage."

The current wet spell is the result of a low pressure induced by western disturbances over North Pakistan and the adjoining Jammu & Kashmir regions.

"We expect the rainfall to stop from tomorrow in Punjab, Haryana, Delhi, Rajasthan, Gujarat, Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh. It will continue in Bihar, Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh, Orissa, West Bengal and the North-East, while being heavy in J&K, Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand," said B P Yadav, who heads the India Meteorological Department's National Weather Forecasting Centre.

"It has been raining since early Sunday morning. Since there has also been strong winds, there is largescale lodging of the wheat plants in many areas. While the crop at the flowering stage may recover, I won't be surprised to see yields go down by 15-20 per cent where grain-filling is taking place," said Pritam Singh, a progressive 107-acre farmer in Urlana Khurd village at Panipat, Haryana.

"The crop planted in the first week of November, which is at the grain forming stage, is the one most vulnerable. We are advising farmers to drain the water from their fields. Water-logging can damage the plant's root system and, in turn, affect yields," said Indu Sharma, head of the Directorate of Wheat Research, Karnal.

Dhiraj Singh, chief of the Directorate of Rapeseed-Mustard Research at Bharatpur (Rajasthan), felt that the damage to mustard from the rains may not be as much as in wheat.

"The grain filling in mustard is over and it is ready for harvesting. But there is the danger of shattering (grains dropping from the plant) because of the moisture drying up from sudden sunlight. Also, the wet grain that has been harvested is susceptible to fungus, affecting quality," he explained.

The chana crop, on the other hand, is still at the grain-filling stage. "The untimely rains will mainly affect quality. The grains may suffer discolouration along with wide variations in seed size," said S Chandra, director of the Indian Society of Agribusiness Professionals, a farm extension services consultancy.

Ironically, farmers have had it bad both ways this time. Rainfall was 33 per cent deficient across the country during October-December at the time of rabi sowings. But now, it has been raining all around just when least required.

The Agriculture Ministry has already estimated India's wheat production in 2014-15 at 103.04 million tonnes (mt) - lower than last year's level of 106.65 mt. The output of rapeseed-mustard and chana are also slated to drop to 7.36 mt and 8.28 mt respectively, from 7.88 mt and 9.53 mt. These are likely to be revised further downwards due to the latest rains.