Delayed monsoon forces rethink on kharif sowing: Farmers advised to use more seeds, cut acreage | Mumbai News

The state expects kharif sowing over 145 lakh hectares this year, down from 157 lakh hectares last season. Officials fear the actual area under cultivation could shrink further if the monsoon remains weak.

In its submission to the Agriculture Department, agricultural universities stressed that crop selection, seed varieties and sowing schedules would have to be adjusted according to rainfall patterns.

“The delayed monsoon and drought-like conditions call for careful crop planning. Otherwise, productivity will fall, and farmers may suffer substantial financial losses,” an official familiar with the report said.

The Dr Punjabrao Deshmukh Krishi Vidyapeeth in Akola has recommended that farmers increase cottonseed usage by 20 per cent if the monsoon is delayed by two to three weeks. For sowing between July 2 and July 15, it has advised cultivators to opt for suitable American and indigenous cotton varieties and adopt intercropping with jowar and tur.

The university has also suggested increasing seed usage for jowar by 20-25 per cent. For soybeans, farmers have been advised to use 75-80 kg of quality seeds per hectare.

The recommendations become more stringent if the monsoon is delayed beyond five weeks.

“In situations where the monsoon is delayed beyond five weeks, farmers should avoid cotton sowing. If sowing is undertaken between July 23 and July 29, farmers should use indigenous varieties, increase seed use by 25 to 30 per cent, reduce the area under cotton and give preference to tur,” the report states.

For soybeans, the advisory recommends completing sowing by July 25 and avoiding fresh sowing beyond that period. Farmers have also been advised against cultivating moong and urad during late sowing windows.

The Vasantrao Naik Marathwada Krishi Vidyapeeth has prepared crop-wise recommendations based on different rainfall scenarios.

According to its assessment, most kharif crops can be sown if adequate rainfall is received between June 15 and July 7.

However, if rains are delayed beyond July 8, farmers should focus on crops such as cotton, jowar, bajra, soybean, tur, sesame and sunflower, while avoiding crops such as moong and groundnut. The university has also advised caution in cotton cultivation if rainfall arrives only in the second half of July.

Similarly, the Mahatma Phule Krishi Vidyapeeth in Rahuri has recommended that if rainfall arrives by the first week of July, farmers should prefer crops such as bajra, groundnut, tur, castor and sunflower and adopt intercropping practices to reduce risk.

The delayed monsoon has prompted the Agriculture Department to repeatedly caution farmers against premature sowing. Over the past two months, the department has issued 10 advisories urging cultivators to wait for adequate soil moisture and sustained rainfall before entering fields.

District-level advisories have also urged farmers to follow official weather alerts and consult local agriculture officers before beginning sowing operations.

Agriculture Minister Dattatray Bharane has said the state has stocked 25 lakh quintals of seeds against an estimated requirement of 20 lakh quintals. Maharashtra has also sought 48 lakh metric tonnes of fertilisers from the Centre and currently has a stock of 25 lakh metric tonnes.

Officials admitted that seed and fertiliser procurement plans were prepared on the assumption that normal sowing would begin by the second week of June.