Even as the southwest monsoon has set in over the State, Chittoor district remains parched, taking a toll on agriculture.
With the hope of good rain, the sowing of groundnut was expected to commence on June 15. A section of farmers in the western mandals of the district even launched the sowing operation early this month. With no rain in June, preceded by two months of dry spell, the crop acreage has shrunk by 40% in the tail-end Chittoor, the officials say.
Sowing operations hit
The acreage stands meagre, which includes 14,000 hectares of groundnut and 3000 hectares of paddy. Farmers are also shying away from sugar cane cultivation with the closure of cooperative sugar factories at Chittoor and Renigunta, and dues from private factories pending.
Unlike the previous years, the Agriculture Department distributed groundnut seeds to farmers from mid-May, with forecast over onset of monsoon from June first week. Some farmers also opted for early sowing in around 3,000 hectares, banking on residual soil moisture and monsoon forecast.
Rain deficit
According to officials, fate of paddy crop would depend on rain. Already, paddy is no more a preferred crop in the western mandals when compared to the eastern belt, owing to the plummeting ground water table.
“Chittoor district has recorded a rain deficit of 85 mm this month. Going by the forecast, the district has no prospects of rains on the next one week to ten days. This will lead to withering of groundnut crop in a considerable stretch,” says Joint Director (Agriculture) N. Vijay Kumar.
He says the sowing operations of groundnut and paddy would continue till July end. “We have one and a half months of time before the sowing season ends. If we don’t get rains by the next ten days, it will have an adverse impact on crop acreage,” explains Mr. Vijay Kumar.
Fodder scarcity
Meanwhile, fodder crisis is slowly raising its head in several mandals as the groundwater has plummeted. “There was no summer shower in March. The monsoon will decide the fodder production this time. Delayed rains will lead to stunted yields,” says Mani, a farmer from Mandipeta Kotur in Palamaner mandal.
