The thunderstorms and unseasonal rainfall early this month led to destruction of one third of high-value horticulture crops such as mangoes, litchi, plum (bair) and citrus fruit in some States.
Sources in the Agriculture Ministry said as per preliminary estimates, five per cent of standing Rabi crops such as wheat, gram, jowar and bajra have been damaged. Usually, the wheat harvest in northern India begins from April 1, while in Madhya Pradesh, farmers commence harvesting from middle of March.
“It is also estimated that at least 35 per cent high-value horticulture crops such as mangoes, litchi, and citrus fruits have been damaged in Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand,” said sources.
There are also reports that mangoes’ productions have been badly hit due to recent thunderstorm in Uttar Pradesh. The damage in mango and litchi crop will lead to increase of prices in retail markets. The Government has expected bumper crops of mango and litchi this year. In the retail market, mango is being sold at Rs 70-90 a kg while litchi is Rs 100-120 a kg.
The Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) has predicted bouts of rain and thunder over parts of north, northeast and east India over the next three days. Uttarakhand, Jammu & Kashmir and Himachal Pradesh are likely to witness thunderstorm accompanied with squall, while parts of Rajasthan might see dust storm over the next two days, sources said.
Thunderstorm accompanied with squall with wind speed reaching 50-70 kilometres per hour are “very likely” at isolated places over east Uttar Pradesh, Assam, Meghalaya, Nagaland, Manipur, Mizoram, Tripura, Gangetic West Bengal, Odisha and Jharkhand.
On May 2-3, a chain of powerful thunderstorms have killed at least 117 people and leaving a trail of destruction in at least six States. Hundreds more were injured in the storms that packed wind speeds of up to 130 km per hour, and wrecked mud houses, damaged crops, uprooted trees and electricity pylons, cutting off power supplies and disrupting train traffic in Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, Uttarakhand, Madhya Pradesh, Punjab and Haryana.
Earlier in February and March this year, the unseasonal rain over the Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra, especially hailstorm, has earlier resulted in severe crop damage.
India’s wheat production is likely to drop by 1.42 per cent to 97.11 million tonnes (MT) in the current crop year ending June due to fall in acreage. However, the country’s overall foodgrain output is projected to touch a new record 277.49 MT in the 2017-18 crop year as against 275.11 MT last year.
A series of hailstorms had destroyed crop three years ago, which added to farmer misery in a drought year. On the other hand, the Northeastern States have been recording on and off pre-monsoon rain for the last many days. These pre-monsoon showers were accompanied with squally winds and lightning strikes in parts.