Grape farmers in northern Maharashtra fear losing at least 40 percent of their harvest as drought threatens vineyards and other crops, Down To Earth reports. Nashik district received just 34.3 percent of its normal south-west monsoon rainfall, hurting kharif crops such as pearl millet (bajra) and onions.
Vasantrao Dhikale, 59, who grows grapes on five acres at Pimpalgaon Baswant, said late-season rain in the catchments had filled ponds, enough to keep vines alive until the December-January harvest. What happens if the drought runs into 2027 is uncertain, he said, and his vineyard might not survive that summer.
Kailas Bhosale, president of the Maharashtra State Grape Growers' Association (MSGGA), said the situation is worst in Solapur and Sangli, where some farmers may not harvest at all this year; Sangli got about 125 mm of rain last week, but high temperatures and evaporation are drying the soil. He warned that irrigation authorities may hold water back for drinking, and that with El Niño and a drier winter forecast, crops will need more water. In past droughts the government supplied limited water to save vineyards, and "such support may be needed", he said.
Losing a vineyard is costly. "If the vineyard dries up, it takes at least Rs 5 lakh per acre to establish a new plantation. Moreover, it takes at least four years before a farmer can get the first grape harvest," Bhosale said. About 1.7 million farmers and farm workers depend on Maharashtra's grape industry, according to the association.
Onions may go the other way. Bharat Dighole, founder-president of the Maharashtra State Onion Growers Farmers Association, said some farmers may plant more onions, because the crop suffers fewer pests and diseases in dry seasons than in wet ones, when waterlogging rots bulbs. Raosaheb Ugale, a grape farmer, said only those with land near rivers or ponds are well placed to grow onions.
The report was written by Himanshu Nitnaware for Down To Earth.
Photo: Savitr1915 / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0)
Source: Down To Earth
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