Cotton Yield Likely to Remain Unchanged in Adilabad This Kharif

Adilabad:Cotton, soybean and red gram crops have survived a prolonged dry spell in Adilabad district, with agriculture officials expecting reasonable yields this Kharif season.

Adilabad district agriculture officer Ravinder Singh said cotton yield was expected to remain at last year’s level unless there were further dry spells. He said the crop had not been significantly affected by the dry spell so far and plant growth remained good.

Singh said rainfall had been sporadic, with some areas receiving rain while others did not. This variation was reflected in crop growth and was likely to affect yields in some areas.

Agriculture officials are expecting 52.07 lakh quintals of cotton arrivals, with an average yield of 11.90 quintals per acre. Cotton was cultivated on 4,37,698 acres in the district during 2026-27. Soybean was cultivated on 56,000 acres, red gram on 42,00 acres and maize on 21,000 acres during the Kharif season.

Farmer Bhumanna of Muktapur in Jaiand mandal said he expected a reasonable cotton yield from his five acres despite the prolonged dry spell, as the crop had shown good growth in black soils.

According to agriculture officials, cotton grown in black soil was showing good growth and the standing crops had not suffered significant damage from the prolonged dry spell. Officials also referred to the possible effects of El Nino.

Agriculture officials are expecting a good yield this season. Farmers are also expecting a minimum support price (MSP) of Rs 8,667 per quintal for cotton for 2026-27, compared with Rs 8,110 in 2025-26.

Singh said farmers had already started harvesting soyabean and were getting an average yield of eight quintals per acre.

Under the cotton procurement system, farmers can sell up to 100 quintals a day after booking a slot. Remaining cotton can be sold by booking a second slot on subsequent days through the Kapas Kisan App. The slot booking period will be extended to 14 days from the earlier seven days, allowing farmers to bring their produce to market yards during that period.

Slots will be allotted based on land ownership and the area cultivated with cotton, with booking linked to the farmer registry ID. Tenant farmer registration will be taken up in villages by village secretaries and agriculture extension officers. Aadhaar and OTP verification will be mandatory for every cotton purchase or sale transaction.

Agriculture extension officers will coordinate with CCI officials and collect details on the quantity and quality of cotton, including the clusters from which poor-quality cotton is arriving.

District officials will form local committees to monitor cotton arriving from Dharamabad and Kinwat areas of neighbouring Maharashtra. Such cotton will be purchased at separately allotted ginning factories in Adilabad, with the local committees monitoring the purchases.

Adilabad district recorded a 33 per cent deficit in cumulative rainfall against normal levels from June 1 to October 7. Nirmal recorded a 22 per cent deficit, while Mancherial and Komaram Bheem Asifabad districts received normal rainfall during the period.

Adilabad received 679.7mm of rainfall against the normal 1,020.9 mm, while Nirmal received 729mm against the normal 933.8mm. Komaram Bheem Asifabad received 1,019.8mm against the normal 1,057.8mm, and Mancherial received 957.4mm against the normal 959.7mm.