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MP: Farmers pray to rain gods as crops dry out in fields

Bhopal: After almost a month-long dry spell, people are praying to appease the rain gods as kharif crops have started drying in the fields.

From Bundelkhand to Gwalior-Chambal and Malwa-Nimar, farmers are awaiting the revival of the monsoon. However, agriculture scientists say, “not to worry”.

Soyabean is susceptible to yield loss from water deficit and drought stress at two key developmental stages — germination and reproduction-seed development, say agriculture experts. Encouraged by good rainfall, the crop was sown on about 60 lakh hectares, almost half of the total kharif area in the state.

But a long dry spell has started damaging the crop.

Mahendra Singh, a farmer in Shivpuri, said, “There has hardly been any growth. The plant should have been around 1-foot-long, but it has grown about 5 inches only.”

In places like Chhatarpur, the “plant size is even shorter and has started turning yellow”. In several districts of Malwa, the soyabean bowl of the state, “the plant has become longer, but the beans are still not visible.” “Even if it rains,” Raja Ram Patel in Harda said, “I am going to lose at least 50% of the crops”. Rambharose Basotia, head of Bhartiya Kisan Sangh in MP and Chhattisgarh, said, “Occasional rainfall has not allowed the crops to die . At many places, the plant has grown so long that the farmers fear it may not bear beans.” By the end of July, the overall rainfall figure is discouraging. The state is 11% rain deficient. Many districts like Chattarpur, Tikamgarh, Hoshangabad and Shivpuri are 40% rain deficient. Hoshangabad is known for paddy crops and farmers are looking at the skies as they pray for rainfall. Districts around them have rain deficiency ranging from 30% to 35%. In all, 17 districts across the state are rain-deficient. Even the nine rain surplus districts, which got abundant rainfall in June, including Bhopal, have not witnessed rain for the past one month.

Shivkumar Sharma alias Kakka ji, a farmers’ leader, said, “Don’t go by the statistics of weather department. Many places like Indore and Ujjain may look rain surplus like Bhopal, but good rains have not taken place for more than 20 days or so.”

Two days ago, sarpanch of Rau in Indore rode a donkey to appease the rain gods.

Across the state, farmers are arranging wedding of frogs, a popular ritual to appease the rain gods.

However, Dr SK Tomar of the agriculture college in Sehore sounded optimistic. “There is no need to worry. Farmers may face problem if it doesn’t rain in the next 8 to 10 days.” Agriculture minister Kamal Patel also said, “There is no need to worry. Government is committed to the cause of farmers and we are monitoring the situation”.

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