Alternative crops can now be planted

MONSOON WATCH

The revival of the south-west monsoon in the past few days in many parts of the country, including the rain-starved north-west, is expected to facilitate resumption of farm activity and rejuvenate the standing crops.

Though the sowing season for major kharif crops (paddy, sugarcane, cotton, soyabean, groundnut and some coarse cereals) is over in most of the tracts, which has been dry so far, alternative crops of pulses and fodders and shorter-duration situation-specific varieties of some main crops can still be planted.

Besides, the rains will help avert an acute drinking water and fodder crisis in the rain-deficient areas of western Madhya Pradesh, Vidharba, Telengana and the north-west, notably Rajasthan.

The prolonged break in the monsoon ended in the northwest only on Sunday, but rains had picked up elsewhere in the past one week. Significantly, while rains have been generally good in most of the drought-affected regions, they have remained subdued in the flood-hit areas in the north-east.

According to the India Meteorological Department (IMD), a low-pressure building up over the Bay of Bengal is expected to result in more rains in Central India in the next one week or so. The current rainy spell in the northwest region, too, is expected to last for another couple of days.

However, the cumulative rains in the current season till July-end was 15 per cent below normal. Around 44 per cent of the country's total area fell in the deficient and scanty rainfall category. In terms of meteorological subdivisions, 19 received normal or excess rainfall and 17 deficient and scanty rainfall.

Regions having significant rainfall deficiency, which hampered crop sowing and damaged standing crops, included Rajasthan (- 60 per cent), Vidharba (-34 per cent), central India (-21 per cent) and Delhi (-77 per cent).

The total water storage in the country's 71 major reservoirs on July 30 stood at 23 per cent of their full reservoir capacity. It was 81 per cent of the last year's corresponding position and 58 per cent of past 10 years' average. However, the rate of recharging of most of these reservoirs is expected to increase with the revival of the monsoon.

Since the sowing activity is expected to resume in areas where rains have revived, the supply of seeds may be a cause for concern. A review of the seed availability position by the agriculture ministry's crop-weather group today revealed that Haryana had some surplus of bajra seed which could be supplied to other states. Steps would have to be taken to arrange the supply of seeds of pulses, such as moon, urd and moth, oilseeds like sesamum and fodders like cowpea.

Agriculture experts feel that it is now too late to grow bajra as a grain crop in Rajasthan. However, it can be planted for use as fodder. But the farmers in Rajasthan can still grow mothbean as pulse and cowpea and some other fodders. Fodder crop of bajra can also be planted in Uttar Pradesh till the end of August.

Sowing of coarsegrains, pulses and some oilseeds, besides paddy, has been adversely hit by poor rains till July-end. Krishi Bhawan sources indicate that coarse cereals could be planted so far only on 15.13 million hectares, against nearly 19 million hectares sown till this time last season. Rajasthan accounts for the bulk of the shortfall as bajra sowing could not be done due to paucity of soil moisture. The sowing of maize is also lagging behind.