Paddy cultivation yet to gain ground

MONSOON WATCH

With the monsoon season half-way through, the pace of sowing of most crops has touched a peak, thanks to the total rainfall being 4 per cent above normal till the last week of July. Last year, it was 14 per cent below normal during this period.

The condition of the freshly planted crops is reported to be good all over the country, except in the flood-hit areas of Assam, Bihar and a few other places where the seedlings run the risk of being washed away. The sowing has also been delayed in these areas.

Overall, the area sown under most crops, except some minor oilseeds and coarse cereals, is larger compared to last year's corresponding position. Crops like groundnut, soybean, bajra (pearl millet) and cotton have made substantial gains in acreage while the coverage under paddy, the main kharif cereal, is almost the same as last year till now.

The water level in major reservoirs is tending to rise to the brim with 5 dams having already reached the 100 per cent storage level and 6 others quite close to that. As many as 70 of the total 78 major reservoirs have reported more than 80 per cent water storage on July 26.

The reservoirs reporting 100 per cent storage include Mettur, Lower Bhawani and Sholayar (all in Tamil Nadu), Harangi in Karnataka and Panchet Sagar in Jharkhand. Only one dam, Sriramsagar in Andhra Pradesh, has no live storage, while two others, Rihand in Uttar Pradesh and Vanivilas Sagar in Karnataka, have less than 30 per cent storage.

The total water stored in the 78 reservoirs monitored by the Central Water Commission was 76.92 billion cubic metres (BCM) on July 26. This is about 19.8 BCM, or 35 per cent, higher than the water level on this date last year and about 34.4 BCM, or 81 per cent, above normal. Further, the recharging of the reservoirs is apace, indicating comfortable water availability for irrigation, hydel power production and other water-based economic activities throughout the year.

The overall monsoon rainfall in the country between June 1 and July 25 was estimated at 413 mm, about 4 per cent above the normal rainfall of 398 mm for this period. The good news on this front is that the weak phase of the monsoon that began almost two weeks ago is likely to be over with the anticipated formation of a low pressure area over north-west Bay of Bengal around August 4. The India Meteorological Department (IMD) expects this system to enhance rainfall in Orissa, north Andhra Pradesh and Chhattisgarh between August 4 and 7. Subsequently, the rainfall belt is expected to shift to Madhya Pradesh, central Maharashtra, Konkan, Goa, Gujarat and south Rajasthan.

Mercifully, rainfall is likely to decrease in the north-eastern states, many of which are reeling under floods, from today itself. Relief from relentless rains in areas like Bihar, east Uttar Pradesh, sub-Himalayan West Bengal and Sikkim can be expected from Friday. The ongoing rains in the north-west are likely to continue till Friday and may decrease thereafter.

The farmers in Assam have been advised by the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) to go in for the cultivation of the delayed 'Sali' (winter rice) crop after the flood waters recede from the fields. Short-duration paddy varieties like Luit, Kopili and Culture-1, which mature in 90 to 95 days, can be transplanted till mid-September. The farmers in Bihar are also being advised to go in for the relatively shorter duration crop varieties. The governments of these states would have to arrange for the seeds for alternative crops.

Reports on crop sowing, received from states by Krishi Bhawan till July 26, indicate that the acreage under kharif coarse cereals has increased this year by nearly 18 lakh hectares, with bajra alone gaining some 15 lakh hectares in acreage. Paddy has been sown on 154 lakh hectares, almost the same as last year.

The cotton area has expanded by about 7 lakh hectares and further planting is still going on in several states. Significantly, about 60 per cent of the total area of 66 lakh hectares under cotton has been seeded with transgenic Bt cotton hybrids, pointing to the farmers' satisfaction with these controversial seeds.

The area under pulses is up 13 per cent this year, while that under oilseeds is higher so far by 6 per cent. Both groundnut and soyabean have been grown on an additional area of about 5 lakh hectares, each. While groundnut has gained acreage mainly in Andhra Pradesh, soybean area is up in both Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh.