Sowing gathers pace in Andhra Pradesh on good rainfall

PUNE: Sowing has picked up in Andhra Pradesh following good rains in the last two days. But farmers in Maharashtra are worried with the scarce reservoir water being kept aside for drinking purpose.

"Only 8% sowing has been completed till now. Crops of moong and urad have been affected the most. Standing crops are also getting affected due to water shortage as groundwater has gone down and there is no other source of irrigation," said Maharashtra agriculture commissioner Umakant Dangat.

About 18% cotton sowing has been completed till now in Maharashtra, which has highest cotton acreage in the country. "There is no or sporadic rainfall in cotton-growing regions like Buldhana, Vashim and Akola. However, if we get good rains in the next few days, there should not be much worry," said KR Kranthi, director, Central Cotton Research Institute, Nagpur.

The state government recently mandated use of water in reservoirs only for drinking purpose and stopped supply to farms. The pre-monsoon rainfall during April and May was also less than last year's in Maharashtra.

In Andhra Pradesh, sowing has picked up in the last two to three days as about six to seven districts received good rainfall. "Sowing has just begun in Andhra Pradesh. The delay in sowing is of only 10 days. We are watching the situation carefully," said K Madhusudhana Rao, agriculture commissioner, Andhra Pradesh.

According to the Andhra Pradesh agricultural department, cotton sowing has been completed on 6.54 lakh ha till Tuesday as against 4.76 lakh ha during the comparable period during last year.