Hyderabad: Crop Stress Reports Emerge as Rabi Season Set to Pose Tough Challenge
Reports of severe crop stress have come in from several mandals in Nalgonda, Suryapet, Yadadri Bhuvanagiri, Mahbubnagar, Nagarkurnool, Wanaparthy, Jogulamba Gadwal, and Narayanpet districts.
Hyderabad: The Kharif crop season in Telangana, hit by a poor Southwest Monsoon which ended on Wednesday, appears set to throw up some unpleasant surprises amid fears of widespread crop stress in some districts, with reports of crops withering and drying up.
According to sources, the initial estimate of 1,25,61,908 acres brought under the plough by Telangana farmers this Kharif could fall to around 95 lakh when the actual extent of crop survival is assessed, while another version doing the rounds is that 95 per cent of the crops have survived, but the extent of yield loss is yet to be determined.
Sources said that reports of severe crop stress have come in from several mandals in Nalgonda, Suryapet, Yadadri Bhuvanagiri, Mahbubnagar, Nagarkurnool, Wanaparthy, Jogulamba Gadwal, and Narayanpet districts.
To a lesser extent, similar reports have also come in from some other districts where some mandals have experienced serious rain deficits.
Meanwhile, IMD director general of meteorology Dr Mrutyunjay Mohapatra told Deccan Chronicle that the outlook for rainfall during the rabi season too is not very encouraging, with below-normal rainfall predicted.
“Coupled with this, Telangana will also see warmer temperatures than normal,” Dr Mohapatra said.
Given the situation, the Telangana government is expected to take a cautious approach to the coming Rabi (Yasangi) crop season, with particular focus on dissuading farmers from going in for water-intensive paddy cultivation, a crop that farmers preferred the most in the current Kharif season with an initial estimate of 56,59,467 acres under paddy, accounting for nearly half the estimated cropped area.
The IMD also outlined the weather outlook for the next crop season at the National Rabi Conference in New Delhi.
The agriculture department and the state government must now convince farmers to opt for the best possible crop options in a water-stressed scenario during the Rabi season.
“This will be the focus of the October 2 grama sabhas being organised by the panchayat raj department. But the bottom line is that rabi is going to be tougher in Telangana than Kharif was.,” a state government official said.