Bulletin No.14/2012

August 31, 2012

Central Research Institute for Dryland Agriculture

Hyderabad

Status of monsoon and contingency plans for deficit/access areas of the country

During the last one week, moderate to heavy rainfall occurred in several parts of the country, particularly, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Rayalaseema and North and South Karnataka.  Even in the severe deficit state of Gujarat, scattered rains in several districts across Saurastra caused relief to the standing crops.  In Punjab and Haryana, well distributed rainfall across most districts lowered the temperature and reduced the water demand for paddy crop while provided a relief to the rainfed crops like millets and pulses.  The overall deficit in the country has come down to -12%.

• In Gujarat, recent rains have revived crops like cotton, castor and pulses in north Gujarat and Saurastra. Where adequate rains are received, top dressing of recommended fertilzers are to be carried out.  In the unsown areas, with the available moisture, fodder crops like bajra and sorghum need to be sown to augment green fodder availability.

• In the entire Karnataka, wide spread and well distributed rains have revived the standing crops.  Top dressing and weeding are recommended immediately.  In south Karnataka, short duration finger millet can still be sown upto end of August.

• In coastal Andhra Pradesh, lack of inflows into the Krishna river has led to more than 5.00 lakh of paddy area remain fallow as transplantation could not be taken up.  Sesbania green manuring is recommended in these areas to improve the soil fertility before taking up the rabi crop.

• Rains have revived the standing crops in most parts of Maharashtra. Top dressing and weeding will improve the crop growth particularly under rainfed conditions.

• In most eastern and central parts of the country, the rainfall has been adequate and well distributed and the normal recommended practices for the respective crops are to be followed.

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