Unseasonal rain damages potato crop

15-20 days rainfall in Uttar Pradesh, Haryana, West Bengal and Bihar takes a toll on the harvest

Unseasonal rainfall in major potato-growing states has damaged the crop, resulting in a rise in its prices. Though the actual loss is yet to be ascertained, experts say the sustained, untimely rainfall would have a long-term impact. When temperatures start rising in March, the tubers would start rotting, they add.

The winter season was followed by unseasonal, intermittent rain for about 20 days in major growing states such as Uttar Pradesh, Haryana, West Bengal and Bihar. This took a toll on the harvest.

“The 15-20 days of continuous unseasonal rainfall have already delayed new crop arrivals for about a month, owing to excessive mud in the field. This may cause the new crop to rot, resulting in a loss in output. And, the situation may aggravate with the onset of summer heat in March,” said a senior scientist with a leading research firm.

Earlier, the National Council of Applied Economic Research had estimated the output would rise five to seven per cent from 44.6- 5.6 million tonnes (mt) in 2011-12.

Another spell of rainfall has been forecast for February 23, after which the Central Potato Research Institute would send a team to major potato-growing belts to assess the damage to the crop.

“The actual production loss would be known only towards the end of February. But the crop has surely been damaged, and it would develop rots later. This would not only reduce overall availability of the premium variety of potato, but also hit its quality,” said the scientist. The new crop, usually sown in early-February, would now be sown in March, he added.

Meanwhile, prices have started responding to the low supply. In Aligarh (Uttar Pradesh), between February 13 and February 18, potato rose by Rs 90/quintal to Rs 610 a quintal. In Delhi, prices rose from Rs 636 a quintal to Rs 683/quintal. In the Hubli (Karnataka) market, prices jumped from Rs 1,000 a quintal to Rs 1,400 a quintal, in Kolkata from Rs 610/quintal to Rs 700/quintal and in Nasik from Rs 800/quintal to Rs 875/quintal. on Tuesday, prices in Pune rose by Rs 50 to Rs 1,100/quintal.

In Uttar Pradesh, the Small Farmers’ Agribusiness Consortium estimated four to five per cent loss in output due to snowfall.

In West Bengal, the sowing area increased six to seven per cent, and this is expected to compensate for the loss in output. Against the usual output of 9.5-10 mt, potato production in the state stood at 8.5 mt.