06-26-2004, 12:47 AM
From Deccan.com on <b>AP agricultural crop patterns</b>.
State may move to short-duration crops
Hyderabad, June 24: The State Agri-culture department has asked officials to get ready to shift farmers to short-duration crops if the dry spell continued.
The instructions were issued after farmers took up agricultural operations in many parts of the State, mistaking for the monsoon, the rain induced by a cyclonic storm earlier this month.
Following the storm-induced rains, 11,40,608 hectare was cropped, almost double the 5,40,098 hectare as on date last year. The normal cropped area is 79,52,308 hectare. Officials fear that if the dry spell continues, the crops in the Telangana area, Nellore, Prakasam, Srikakulam districts could be hit by moisture stress. In these areas, a quarter to half the normal cropping area had already been crop-ped.
âThere will be moisture stress on dry corps like cotton, maize, gingely and
others. But a few good rains in the next week could save the crops,â a senior Agricul-ture officer told Deccan Chronicle on Thursday. In the event that there are no rains, he said, the department has asked officials to make available seeds for short-du-ration pulses like green gram to farmers and guide them wherever necessary particularly in the KC and Nagar-junasagar areas, Nalgonda.
âExcept the north coastal area, where some places received rains due to depression, many parts of the State are reeling under a dry spell. Compared to last year, the cropped area has increased this year because of farmers mistaking untimely rains for the monsoon.,â he said. Asked about the contingency plans, he said the farmers would have to change the crop pattern and go in for short-duration crops like pulses, use strictly regulated quantity of pesticides and follow good farm practices.
Officials said paddy cultivation was taken up only in the Godavari delta (about four lakh hectare out of 24 lakh hectare in the State) and was yet to pick up in other areas. âThe delay in monsoon is a blessing in disguise. When sowing is taken up slowly, it means the season is on,â another official explained.
The percentage of sowing of all crops against the normal was as follows:
North-coastal: Srikakulam 24 per cent, Vizianagaram 37, Visakhapatnam 21,
Coastal: Nellore 70, Praka-sam 36. West Godavari 9, Krishna 5, Guntur 4, East Go-davari 4 per cent.
Rayalaseema: Kurnool 6, Kadapa 6, Chittoor 6, Ananta-pur 2.
Telangana: Adilabad 46 per cent, Ranga Reddy 27, Medak 25, Nizamabad 18, Khamm-am 17, Nalgonda 11, Mah-bubnagar 10, Karimna-gar 7 and Warangal 6 per cent.
State may move to short-duration crops
Hyderabad, June 24: The State Agri-culture department has asked officials to get ready to shift farmers to short-duration crops if the dry spell continued.
The instructions were issued after farmers took up agricultural operations in many parts of the State, mistaking for the monsoon, the rain induced by a cyclonic storm earlier this month.
Following the storm-induced rains, 11,40,608 hectare was cropped, almost double the 5,40,098 hectare as on date last year. The normal cropped area is 79,52,308 hectare. Officials fear that if the dry spell continues, the crops in the Telangana area, Nellore, Prakasam, Srikakulam districts could be hit by moisture stress. In these areas, a quarter to half the normal cropping area had already been crop-ped.
âThere will be moisture stress on dry corps like cotton, maize, gingely and
others. But a few good rains in the next week could save the crops,â a senior Agricul-ture officer told Deccan Chronicle on Thursday. In the event that there are no rains, he said, the department has asked officials to make available seeds for short-du-ration pulses like green gram to farmers and guide them wherever necessary particularly in the KC and Nagar-junasagar areas, Nalgonda.
âExcept the north coastal area, where some places received rains due to depression, many parts of the State are reeling under a dry spell. Compared to last year, the cropped area has increased this year because of farmers mistaking untimely rains for the monsoon.,â he said. Asked about the contingency plans, he said the farmers would have to change the crop pattern and go in for short-duration crops like pulses, use strictly regulated quantity of pesticides and follow good farm practices.
Officials said paddy cultivation was taken up only in the Godavari delta (about four lakh hectare out of 24 lakh hectare in the State) and was yet to pick up in other areas. âThe delay in monsoon is a blessing in disguise. When sowing is taken up slowly, it means the season is on,â another official explained.
The percentage of sowing of all crops against the normal was as follows:
North-coastal: Srikakulam 24 per cent, Vizianagaram 37, Visakhapatnam 21,
Coastal: Nellore 70, Praka-sam 36. West Godavari 9, Krishna 5, Guntur 4, East Go-davari 4 per cent.
Rayalaseema: Kurnool 6, Kadapa 6, Chittoor 6, Ananta-pur 2.
Telangana: Adilabad 46 per cent, Ranga Reddy 27, Medak 25, Nizamabad 18, Khamm-am 17, Nalgonda 11, Mah-bubnagar 10, Karimna-gar 7 and Warangal 6 per cent.