Widespread rains, lashing second time in the current Kharif season in various parts of Haryana, may hit an early variety of paddy, which is on the verge of maturity, even as the state is expecting over 55 lakh metric tonne (MT) crop this year.
"Rains will mainly impact the early varieties of paddy like Sharbati in Haryana, as incessant rains will lead to blackening of grains," All India Rice Exporters Association Vijay Setia said today.
Over 30,000 hectares of land is under Sharbati variety of paddy in Haryana.
However, Setia ruled out the possibility of any adverse impact of rains on basmati and other varieties of crop because of torrential rains. "I do not think there is going to be any adverse impact of basmati and non-basmati varieties of crop due to rains," he said.
Haryana this season brought 11.50 lakh hectares under paddy crop with projected rice production of 37.38 lakh MT.
Northern region is facing moderate to heavy rains, causing flooding of areas, including agricultural fields in Yamuna Nagar, Panipat, Karnal, Sonepat and Ambala districts of Haryana.
In July this year, torrential rains hit the paddy crop in both Punjab and Haryana as paddy sown over 400,000 acres was damaged by flooding in both states.
Besides paddy, incessant rains have also posed threat over cotton crop being damaged, as reports pouring in from several areas suggest that cotton fields in those areas have also been flooded with the rains.
"There will be some damage to cotton crop due to rains, as continuous rains may affect the flowering of the cotton ball," said a cotton expert.
Haryana has brought close to 4.50 lakh hectares under cotton cultivation this year.
However, the actual impact of rains on paddy and cotton crop can be known after conducting loss assessment of the affected areas, said an official.
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