E-Paper
Excess rain in September leaves Haryana paddy growers anxious
Farmers are troubled as the crop was ready for harvest, but was now left ridden with higher moisture content; experts say bad weather at this stage will impact yield of early varieties
The more than normal rainfall in September has left paddy farmers worried about the impact on the yield at this stage.
According to the India Meteorological Department (IMD), Haryana received 113.3mm rain from September 1 to 13 – 124% more than 50.7mm considered normal in the month. More rain has also been forecast till September 16 in most of parts of the state.
Farmers, who grew early varieties, are troubled as the crop was ready for harvest, but was now left ridden with higher moisture content.
“I am unable to get my five acres of Pusa 1509 harvested because of the bad weather. Even the price is good this year, but the rain in the past couple of days has delayed harvesting by one week,” said Raj Kumar, a farmer in Kurukshetra district.
The delay, farmers said, will also hold up sowing of next crops. “Most of the farmers grow early varieties of paddy so that they can vacate the field for vegetables like potato, cauliflower, radish, carrot and peas,” said Harish Kumar, who has rented five acres in Karnal’s Gharaunda area to grow cauliflower.
Agriculture experts also maintain that excess rain in September is harmful for paddy, especially for the early varieties. “Most of the crop is at the flowering or milking stage. The rain will not only affect the growth of the grain but also cause lustre loss,” said Dr Narender Goyal of Krishi Vigyan Kendra at Damla, Yamunanagar.
Karam Chand, deputy director, Haryana agriculture department, advised farmers to avoid harvesting immediately and wait for the next couple of days.
According to figures of the state agriculture department, this year Haryana has reported around 18% decline in the area under paddy cultivation, which has dropped from 15.27 lakh hectares last year to 12.5 lakh hectares this year.
The government claims that the fall in the area under paddy is a result of its incentive schemes. But there are also reports that several farmers failed to grow water guzzler paddy due to the long dry spell from June 15 to July 11.
The state saw only 58mm rain in scattered places against a normal of 87.4 mm in the first 11 days of July – a 34% shortfall.
Even the precipitation in June was 12% deficient, with the state recording 57.8mm showers from June 1 to July 10 against the normal of 86.2mm, according to IMD data.
