4 districts in Maharashtra still show rainfall deficits, below average kharif sowing

With nearly 40% of the ongoing southwest monsoon season over - and with the July 15 deadline for sowing of kharif crops having lapsed - four districts in the state continue to show significant rainfall deficits, shows India Meteorological Department (IMD) data

With nearly 40% of the ongoing southwest monsoon season over - and with the July 15 deadline for sowing of kharif crops having lapsed - four districts in the state continue to show significant rainfall deficits, shows India Meteorological Department (IMD) data. These include Nandurbar, Dhule, Akola and Nashik, which are concentrated along the same belt from Khandesh to western Vidarbha. Officials, however, said it is too early to speculate on how these deficits will impact agricultural productivity.

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On July 14, Maharashtra’s agriculture minister Dada Bhuse had said that 74% of kharif sowing for the season have been completed across the state, with soybean seeds being sown across 38 lakh hectares and cotton across 39 lakh hectares. However, he also added that Nashik, Dhule and Nandurbar have so far shown below average sowing figures. An official with the IMD’s agricultural meteorology division, seeking anonymity, also said this was the case with Akola district, but declined to provide specific figures.

“We are confident that the situation in these districts will also improve. If you look at Jalgaon and Buldhana districts, they were also showing fairly large rainfall deficits a week ago, but are now showing good rainfall and crop sowing has also picked up. There are contingency crop plans for each of these districts which will be put into action as soon as the rainfall situation improves,” the official said.

Hindustan Times had reported, on July 12, that Nandurbar and Akola were showing the highest seasonal deficit at -57% and -50% respectively. Updated rainfall data shows that there has been some improvement in Akola, where the gap now stands at -33%. The district has so far received 169.6mm of rain against the long period average of 252.1mm. Some improvement was also seen in Dhule district, where the rainfall deficit a week ago stood at -46%, improving to -22% on July 17.

The situation in Nandurbar has not shown similar improvements, however, with the deficit still standing at -56% on July 17. The district has seen only 142.9mm of rain (against the normal 322.7mm). The same goes for Nashik, where the deficit reduced from -37% a week ago to just -32% on July 17. Jalgaon and Buldhana districts, however, have shown the most rainfall in the past week, currently showing nearly normal levels of rain.