The heavy rains over the cotton growing regions of Punjab, Haryana and Rajasthan have cast a shadow over crop prospects. Experts see quality getting hampered due to the ‘ill-timed’ rains during the harvest period.
According to information from various sources in the trade in North India and the Cotton Association of India (CAI), the cotton belt of North India received heavy rains during the last three days, which could prove detrimental for the standing cotton crop, which was at the harvest stage.
“Due to the rains around this time, the crop is likely to get hampered to the extent of about 10 lakh bales in the North region. Earlier the crop expectations was at 60-65 lakh bales, which is feared to come down to around 50-55 lakh bales. There is greater concern over flower shedding because of rains joined by winds. Also, there is an increased risk of pest attack due to cloudy and wet weather,” said a source privy to the condition.
The water-logged farms and increased moisture level in the bolls, which open around September, has increased the possibility of deterioration in quality and also in the crop.
“It is difficult to say at this juncture about the possible damage because rains continued till today. Only now has the sky has started to clear in the cotton belt. But rains at the time of picking will hurt crop prospects. There could be damage of about 5-10 per cent in some areas, while in some places this rain has benefited the crop. So, currently there is no clarity about the extent of loss,” said Ashwani Jhamb, a cotton expert and director at Indian Cotton Association.
Cotton Association of India (CAI) is conducting its meeting on October 1 for estimation of the cotton crop.
The India Meteorological Department (IMD) reported that extremely heavy rains occurred over isolated places in Punjab and Himachal Pradesh, while Haryana, Gujarat and East Rajasthan saw heavy to very heavy rain during the past 24 hours. The IMD has predicted heavy to very heavy rains at isolated places in Haryana, and heavy rains in Punjab and East Rajasthan over the next 24 hours.
Per Agriculture Ministry data, as on September 20, cotton acreage stood at 120.64 lakh hectares, about 0.89 per cent down from 121.72 lakh hectares in the same period last year. The area in Punjab, Haryana and Rajasthan stood at 2.84 lakh hectares (3.85 lakh), 6.65 lakh hectares (6.56 lakh) and 4.96 lakh hectares (5.03 lakh).
According to farmer sources, heavy rains around September will adversely affect arrivals, as picking may be delayed by a week. Normally, farmers in North India pick up to November, post which they take off the cotton plants and switch to winter crops.
Source: The Hindu Business Line, India Tuesday, 25 September 2018