Heat wave delays kharif sowing

A persisting heat wave, along with a delayed monsoon is set to delay the sowing of kharif (winter) crops in the country, particularly paddy. Farmers have been advised to sow shorter-duration rice varieties.

The heat has also impacted vegetable prices. At Delhi's Azadpur Mandi, that of bitter gourd is up over a month from Rs  1,185 a quintal to Rs  1,344 a qtl, of coriander from Rs  1,525 a qtl to Rs  2,438 a qtl and of onion from Rs  1,363 a qtl to Rs  1,419 a qtl, by government data.The sowing time of winter (kharif) rice is June-July and it is harvested in November-December.



“This year, there might be a delay in sowing of kharif crops like rice and maize due to monsoon delay. Also, this year, some of the vegetable crops have wilted due to extreme weather conditions,” said Pranab Chatterjee, professor at Bidhan Chandra Krishi Viswavidyalaya here.

“In a few places in Punjab, some sowing had taken place but it is unlikely to sustain in these heat conditions,” said R Sundaresan, executive director, All India Rice Exporters Association



The kharif crop is sown with the onset of monsoon, beginning the first week of June. The major ones in that season are paddy, bajra, jowar, groundnut, soyabean, sugarcane and maize.

In Andhra Pradesh, farmers are being advised to sow rice of a 125-130 day crop cycle, instead of a 180-day one. “The reservoirs have almost dried up,” said Krishna Rao, a rice trader. In Bihar, sugarcane farmers says there's been a 25 per cent reduction in production due to high temperature.

“In the absence of canal irrigation, we had to depend on pump irrigation. However, due to scarcity of water, instead of six irrigation cycles, we could only afford two cycles due to high diesel prices,” said Shankar Vaghela, chairman, Pragatisheel Kisan Union, Sitamarhi.

The heat wave has sent chicken prices soaring, particularly in the eastern and southern markets. In Bengal, Odisha, Assam, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Telangana and Andhra, these have risen by nearly Rs  20 a kg in the past week. According to traders, there has been nearly 25% reduction in chicken production in the last one week due to high mortality rate of chickens.