• CRISIL Research Impact Note
  • Rabi Crops
  • Agriculture
  • CRISIL Research
  • Rabi Season
  • Crops
March 23, 2023

Drenching damages some rabi crops

Impact note | March 2023

About half of the Indian agricultural land is rainfed, so timely and adequate rains are crucial for crop yields

 

Unfortunately, the ongoing harvest window for rabi crops has been lashed by an untimely torrent, causing damage to rabi crops — some already harvested, some ready to be harvested and some in the development stage.

 

Between March 1 and 21, 2023, cumulative rains have been 20% more than normal and, in the past four days, 3-4x the normal. On March 21, rain volume in central India was ~1600% more than normal. Many other regions have also received a drenching.

Damaging drenching

 

In the north and north-east, rains have been beneficial for vegetables and mango, but in Bihar it has damaged wheat and litchi crops.

 

Litchi orchards were in full bloom and excess rains have led to a significant decline in flowering, which is expected to reduce yields by 5-6% on-year.

 

In wheat, lodging has been reported in many places, which would impact yield.

 

In West Bengal, paddy has seen grain drop, while potato crop has been damaged in Cooch Behar and Jalpaiguri. The good part is, most of the potato has been harvested here, so the damage is unlikely to be very significant.

 

The north-west, comprising Punjab, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan, has also witnessed wheat lodging, which could lead to a 4-5% decline in yield, compared with previous estimates. The crop is in the maturity stage and was to be harvested in the first week of April. Rains could delay the process.

 

Mustard, another major rabi crop has already seen ~70% harvesting, but pods are said to have been damaged for the rest, especially in Rajasthan.