With a 41% shortfall in rain, sowing of kharif crops takes a hit in Maharashtra

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It is not just political uncertainty that Maharashtra is facing. The lack of rain in the state has meant that there has hardly been any sowing of kharif crops.
The 41.4 per cent deficient rainfall in the state during the current southwest monsoon season (till June 23) is in contrast to the 82.5 per cent surplus in Assam—where the ruling Shiv Sena’s rebel MLAs are holed up.
The monsoon technically entered Maharashtra on June 10 and had covered the entire state by Thursday. The rain, however, has been scanty overall, with only scattered showers. Most farmers have, therefore, refrained from taking up sowing. The main worry is over kharif pulses, particularly moong (green gram) and urad (black gram), whose window seems to be closing.
“I normally grow moong and urad on around two acres each, the sowing for which has to be completed by the month-end. This time, I have decided to skip these two crops and, instead, plant cotton on 12 acres and soyabean on my remaining four acres,” said Manik Kadam, a farmer from Arvi village in Marathwada district’s Parbhani taluka.
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