Untimely rain hits farmers hard, yield of basmati '1509' drops

Farmers in several areas of the district are facing a fresh crisis this season as excess rain, waterlogging and flood-like conditions have severely affected paddy cultivation. The widely grown '1509' basmati variety has witnessed a drastic fall in yield, leaving them grappling with mounting financial stress.

This year, the average yield of the 1509 variety has dropped to 12-17 quintals per acre against last season’s 20-25 quintals per acre. Though market prices have been comparatively better, the sharp dip in production has wiped out the gains, leaving the farmers worried.

Vikas, a farmer who came to the Karnal grain market with his crop, said: “I harvested the 1509 variety on 4 acres and got an average yield of 16.5 quintals per acre. Last year, it was around 23.5 quintals per acre. With the current market rate of Rs 3,000 per quintal, my loss is about Rs 21,000 an acre,” he said, adding that the cost of paddy cultivation was around Rs 27,000 an acre.

Pratap, a farmer from Rindal village, who had brought his produce to the local mandi, said the 1509 Basmati was being purchased by private players in the range of Rs 2,600 and Rs 3,200 a quintal. “Due to excessive rain, the production this year is less,” he explained.

Naresh, a farmer from Kunjpura, pointed out that the fall in production was heavy. “I got around 25 quintals of paddy per acre last season, but this year, the yield has fallen to 16 quintals an acre. It was sold at Rs 2,800 a quintal, which is slightly better than last year,” he added.

Commission agents also acknowledged the grim situation. “No doubt, the rates of 1509 variety are good this year compared to last season, but the yield is very low,” said Sumit Choudhary, an arhtiya.

“Excess rain during the flowering period of the crop led to fall in production due to pollen shedding. It caused poor seed setting,” said Dr Virender Lather, former principal scientist, ICAR-Indian Agricultural Research Institute.