The primary seasonal crops cotton and paddy, suffered significant losses due to the severe rainfall during this kharif season.
Farmers in Punjab and Haryana are concerned since the rain during this time was unfavourable as the paddy crop was already being harvested.
Paddy procurement was to officially begin on October 1.
Farmers are concerned that this time, because of the rain, the moisture content in the rice grains will be higher. The food and supply departments in both states had high hopes for the paddy crop.
Crops are mature; Punjab contributes 35% of the rice to the central pool, while Haryana contributes between 30% and 35%. In the current Kharif marketing season, Punjab and Haryana are aiming for 165 lakh Metric Tons and 55 lakh Metric Tons of paddy, respectively.
Additionally, agricultural experts are concerned that excessive rains may seriously cast doubt on the cotton crop, which is almost ready for harvest in both states.
“If rain consistently falls for several days, it will promote cotton seed germination, ultimately affecting the cotton balls,”
They claimed that white fly and leaf curl disease, especially in the Abohar district, have aggressively affected Punjab’s cotton crop.
According to the Agriculture Department data, the cotton crop on 49,212 acres has seen losses of more than 26%, with the crop on 18,700 acres reporting damage of more than 50%.
Only 10,970 acres of the district’s 3,39,980 acres of cotton crop had been negatively impacted by rain to the extent of less than 25%. The farmers said it was for the third kharif season in a row when the cotton crop had suffered extensive damage due to excessive rainfall and other reasons such as whitefly and pink bollworm.
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