Crops damaged, farmers worried

Tribune News Service

Dharamsala, April 19

Heavy rain and a thunderstorm lashed the Kangra valley yesterday night, causing damage to wheat, fruit and vegetable crops. While the lower areas received heavy rain, upper Dhauladhars received snow.

Agriculture experts said the wheat crop was ready for harvesting. The rain and thunderstorm that lashed the region last night would lead to drop in wheat crop yield. It could also lead to blackening of grains and outbreak of fungal diseases in case the drainage in the fields was not proper, they said. Earlier, the wheat crop in the valley was adversely affected due to prolonged dry weather in February.

Drop in production likely

• Agriculture experts say the wheat crop is ready for harvesting
• The rain and thunderstorm that lashed the region last night will lead to drop in wheat crop yield
• It can also lead to blackening of grains and outbreak of fungal diseases in case the drainage in the fields is not proper

At present, the state government doesn’t have any mechanism in place to compensate farmers for the crop loss due to vagaries of weather. The only mechanism available to the farmers is the crop insurance scheme of the Union Government, but very few farmers have opted for it due to small landholdings.

The rain and thunderstorm have also put tea growers in worry. According to tea farmer Amandeep Singh, plucking of leaves is going on these days. Heavy rain and thunderstorm have damaged the green buds of tea that were ready for plucking. It would affect the yield, he said.

Mango and litchi crops have also been damaged in the lower areas of the district. Farmer Sarwan Singh said the thunderstorm that hit the region last night would cause extensive damage to the yield of mango and litchi crops.

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