Maharashtra cotton growers fear low yield owing to poor rainfall

Marathwada (Maharashtra), June 30 (ANI): Scores of cotton-growing farmers in Maharashtra's Marathwada region are facing the threat of a poor yield.

The monsoons are the major irrigators in the cotton-producing region, which is the second largest producer of cotton in India after Gujarat.

"In Aurangabad region, Jalna district still has less than 40 per cent rainfall. And because of this the sowing that started earlier has come to a halt. This week, the farmers of Jalna, Hingoli, Nanded, and Parbhani districts are waiting for rains," said S. V. Shiralkar, Agriculture Officer, Marathwada region.

Shiralkar also said that almost 4.4 million hectares of land is ready for sowing, but due to the scanty rainfall, only 1.3 million hectares has been sown.

May-June is usually the period of sowing cottonseeds but in the hope of rains, farmers have delayed the sowing, which, however, poses the risk of spoiling the seeds, causing farmers to fear a low yield.

"In the last 8-15 days, the rainfall we have had is very less. And in the hope of having more rains, we are delaying the sowing. We think that we will sow when it will rain. But now we are scared that a delayed sowing will also spoil the seeds," said Abdul Haq, a farmer.

Water crisis is not a new phenomenon in India. The water shortage has a direct impact on agricultural yield, as most of the farmers depend on the rains for irrigation. (ANI)