September 21, 2009
Late India monsoon rain helps some crops
A late revival of the monsoon activity in some of the worst drought affected regions has helped to contain further yield losses in kharif (fall and early winter harvested) crops such as rice and improve planting prospects for rabi (winter) season crops (wheat, rapeseed and pulses), according to a US Department of Agriculture attache report posted Friday on the Foreign Agricultural Services Web site.
However, it is unclear whether these rains would encourage significant additional planting of rice in the kharif season as the normal window of opportunity for planting of rice is over in most states.
During the week ending September 9, several drought affected states such as Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh, and West Bengal received unusually heavy rains, alleviating the drought situation to some extent. Some parts of these states are now experiencing floods. Rainfall during the week ending September 9 was 21 percent above normal with 18 of the 36 weather subdivisions, mostly in north, central and south India, receiving above normal rainfall. During the previous week also monsoon was 4 percent above normal with several western and south east states receiving excellent rains However, area weighted cumulative rainfall from June 1 to September 9 was still 20 percent below normal, only a marginal improvement over the previous weeks. Rainfall deficiency in most north, central and eastern states continue to remain high ranging from 43 percent in West Uttar Pradesh to 21 percent in Bihar. Official progressive planting data shows that rice planting up to September 4 was 6.4 million hectares behind the corresponding period of last year, whereas area coverage of most other crops, with the exception of peanut, millet, and sugarcane, was equal to or ahead of last year's level. Recent above normal rains in the drought affected areas should help to arrest further yield losses in crops such as rice, soy, pulses, peanut and sugarcane. Furthermore, improved soil moisture conditions should help timely planting of winter season crops such as wheat, rapeseed, and pulses.
