Unseasonal rainfall damages rabi crops& fruits across over 64,000 hectares in state; Ahilyanagar & Jalgaon hit most

Pune: Unseasonal rainfall damaged rabi crops and fruits over 64,573 hectares across 28 districts in March, with Ahilyanagar and Jalgaon being most affected, showed state agriculture department's initial assessment released on Tuesday.According to the report, crops like wheat, jowar, green chickpeas, onions, and fruits like mango, banana and grapes were damaged due to unseasonal rainfall till March 31. "Agriculture in the state is facing a double blow. During the last kharif season, heavy flooding damaged crops over more than 65 lakh hectares, and now unseasonal rainfall has resulted in losses to rabi crops as well," a senior agriculture department official told TOI.The state experienced an initial spell of unseasonal rainfall early in March, and by March 19, crop damage had been reported across 1,500 hectares. Rainfall activity, however, intensified over the following days, leading to a sharp rise in losses. In less than two weeks, the affected area increased more than forty-fold to 64,573 hectares, the assessment showed.Among the worst-hit districts, Ahilyanagar reported crop loss over 12,754 hectares followed by Jalgaon (11,231 hectares). Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar, Nashik, Dhule and Buldhana districts also reported crop damage exceeding 5,000 hectares each during the month. "The process of panchnama is currently underway," the official said.According to preliminary estimates released by the department, the extent of damage could increase further, as India Meteorological Department (IMD) has forecast more rainfall in the coming days. "In view of this, farmers have been advised to harvest rabi crops that are ready and store them in safe locations till weather conditions improve," the official added.
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