Lull slows sowing of kharif crop

MONSOON WATCH

This year, the monsoon set in rather early (in the third week of May, instead of the usual June 1). The advance of the rains was normal till June 17, but there was a break till July 3, after which it resumed.

The temporary break has, however, not resulted in much damage to crops. This is because the break was not too prolonged and the freshly-planted crops did not wither.

Also, the break had occurred early in the season, thus crop sowing was not delayed to an extent where the yields would be affected. Though it slowed down the pace of planting operations, farmers are optimistic as the weatherman has predicted a 100 per cent normal monsoon.

In fact, the early onset of the monsoon and copious pre-monsoon showers proved beneficial for farmers in several ways. Besides facilitating the rejuvenation of the green cover to sustain livestock, it helped recharge water reservoirs, raising the total storage level above the past 10 years' average, for the first time in several years.

The total water reserves in the country's 71 important reservoirs was estimated at 131.28 billion cubic metres (bcm) on June 25, representing 79 per cent of their total water holding capacity. It was about 65 per cent higher than last year's corresponding level and nearly 8 per cent above the past decade's average storage on this date.

However, there still were 6 major reservoirs that had no utilisable water. These included Sriramsagar and Somasila in Andhra Pradesh, Gandhi Sagar in Madhya Pradesh, Jayakwadi and Bhim in Maharashtra and Ramganga in Uttar Pradesh.

Indeed, though the monsoon has revived and is expected to cover the rest of the country in the next few days, the rainfall distribution so far has not been very even.

Of the total 36 meteorological sub-divisions, five have received deficient rainfall. These include some agriculturally important areas like Telangana, Rayalseema and Marathwada.

Some of these tracts are facing serious problems like a receding water table. This had led many farmers, who were unable to repay the loans that they had taken for digging or deepening wells, to commit suicide.

Fortunately, most of these areas have now started getting rain and the deficit may partly be made up soon. Significantly, the areas in Karnataka, Kerala and Maharashtra, which had remained woefully rain-deficient last year, have received good showers this year.

Reports from the states indicate that the kharif sowing, which had begun on a brisk note, had slowed down towards the third and fourth week of June due to a lull in the monsoon in most parts of the country. Consequently, the pace of planting of rice, which was far ahead of last year's corresponding position till mid-June, slipped subsequently. So far, only about 3.35 million hectares have been covered under this crop, against over 3.5 million hectares in the last season.

Notably, rice planting is heading towards completion in northwest India, which had not experienced rain thus far. This is because paddy is grown as a totally irrigated crop in this region (Punjab, Haryana and western Uttar Pradesh) and there have been no shortage of water. Besides, the wheat was harvested relatively early in this belt and the farmers were keen to finish paddy planting before the migratory labour, which hails from Bihar, returned home.

Among other kharif crops, coarse cereals have been planted over a larger area than last year. The increase is due largely to larger planting of maize, thanks to last year's good returns from it.

Some bajra area is reported to have been diverted to oilseeds, due again, to the price factor. In any case, the acreage under oilseeds and pulses is anticipated to expand substantially this season.