India: Poor Rains Leave Mysore Farmers in Limbo

Source from:  Aug 02, 2012 08/02/2012

While deficient rainfall has affected standing crops, it is also likely to cause a fall in foodgrain production in all the seven taluks of Mysore district. Maize, hybrid maize, sesame, paddy, sunflower, pulses and tobacco crops sown this monsoon, the crop season is already hit due to the poor rainfall. While harvesting of the 2011-12 summer crop of paddy has been completed, ragi, hybrid maize and tobacco sowing in H D Kote and Periyapatna taluks, ragi, hybrid maize and groundnut in T Narasipur taluk is on taking advantage of the rain seen so far. As lands are dry due to inadequate rainfall, readying of land and sowing activities have come to a stop in other taluks, according to the Department of Agriculture, Mysore district. Sowing has taken place only on 50 per cent of the cultivated area. Around 210,784 hectares of rain-fed area and 3,921 hectares of irrigated area, in all 214,705 hectares, have come under crops till on Wednesday in the district. The department has targeted cultivation of different crops on 431,575 hectares — 312,650 hectares in rain-fed area and 118,925 hectares in irrigated area. As can be seen, sowing has taken place only over a very small area, 3,921 hectares of the 118,925 hectares, of the irrigated area due to poor storage in reservoirs.The target for cereal cultivation is on in 186,900 hectares. Of this, only 27,430 hectares have been covered so far. Crops sown are hybrid maize (4,900 hectares), local maize (2,500 hectares), ragi (1,659 hectares) and maize (18,371 hectares). Cultivation of pulses is targeted in 81,075 hectares. Of this, sowing has been possible only on 48,057 hectares, accounting for 61 per cent. Oil seed cultivation has taken place only over 53 per cent of the area — 12,425 hectares against the targeted 23,365 hectares. Groundnut (2,564), sesame (6,465), sunflower (1,055) and castor (2,341 hectares) are the oilseed crops sown. Tobacco (73,880 hectare) and cotton (48,157 hectares) have taken the lion’s share in commercial crops, and sowing has taken place over 125,783 hectares of the targeted 140,235 hectares, covering 90 per cent of the area. Only 13 days have seen monsoon rain, from January 2012 and July 2012, yielding only 64 per cent of the normal rain of the period. As against the 373.1 mm average, rainfall recorded is only 236.9 mm till date. On the other hand, during the same period last year, it rained for 20 days, yielding 409.6 mm. Nanjangud taluk has recorded the lowest of 135.4 mm against the normal rainfall of 320.9 mm. T Narasipur has seen near normal rainfall with 280.1 mm aginst the normal of 300.5 mm. Rainfall occurred and the normal rainfall figures in other taluks are: H D Kote 272.4 (451.5), Hunsur 246 (372.3), Mysore 230 (360), K R Nagar 174.2 (366.3) and Mysore 320.4 (439.4 mm). Enditem