Chandigarh: Widespread rains, lashing second
time in the current Kharif season in various parts of Haryana,
may hit an early variety of paddy, which is on the verge of
maturity, even as the state is expecting over 55 lakh metric
tonne (MT) crop this year.
"Rains will mainly impact the early varieties of paddy
like Sharbati in Haryana, as incessant rains will lead to
blackening of grains," All India Rice Exporters Association
Vijay Setia said today.
Over 30,000 hectares of land is under Sharbati variety
of paddy in Haryana.
However, Setia ruled out the possibility of any adverse
impact of rains on basmati and other varieties of crop because
of torrential rains. "I do not think there is going to be any
adverse impact of basmati and non-basmati varieties of crop
due to rains," he said.
Haryana this season brought 11.50 lakh hectares under
paddy crop with projected rice production of 37.38 lakh MT.
Northern region is facing moderate to heavy rains,
causing flooding of areas, including agricultural fields in
Yamuna Nagar, Panipat, Karnal, Sonepat and Ambala districts
of Haryana.
In the month of July this year, torrential rains hit
the paddy crop in both Punjab and Haryana as paddy sown over 4
lakh acres was damaged by flooding in both states.
Besides paddy, incessant rains have also posed threat
over cotton crop being damaged, as reports pouring in from
several areas suggest that cotton fields in those areas have
also been flooded with the rains.
"There will be some damage to cotton crop due to rains,
as continuous rains may affect the flowering of the cotton
ball," said a cotton expert.
Haryana has brought close to 4.50 lakh hectares under
cotton cultivation this year.
However, the actual impact of rains on paddy and cotton
crop can be known after conducting loss assessment of the
affected areas, said an official.
PTI
