CropLife India has urged farmers to focus on a timely sowing strategy for the ongoing zaid season following significant losses to rabi crops caused by unseasonal rain and hailstorms. The advisory, issued amid ongoing sowing activities, emphasizes the importance of science-based crop protection and responsible use of agricultural inputs to help farmers mitigate the recent setbacks and maximize yields during the short zaid planting window.
The zaid season, which occurs between the rabi and kharif cropping periods, offers a critical opportunity for farmers to recover income lost in the earlier season. CropLife India highlighted the risks associated with delayed sowing, noting that each week’s postponement reduces crop growth duration and potential yields. The advisory encourages farmers to select heat-tolerant crop varieties suited to the season, maintain irrigation every five to seven days, utilize mulching techniques to conserve moisture, and conduct regular monitoring for pests like red spider mites, aphids, and fruit flies, whose populations tend to increase in warmer conditions.
With residual moisture still present in some areas due to atypical rainfall, CropLife India cautioned against fungal infections and stressed the need for timely, judicious application of crop protection products. The organization advocates adherence to label instructions and good agricultural practices to effectively safeguard crops within the limited growing timeframe of the zaid season.
Recent successive western disturbances have caused extensive damage to nearly harvest-ready rabi crops across key agricultural states including Rajasthan, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, and Madhya Pradesh. The disruptions not only led to losses directly from weather events but also delayed field preparations for the zaid season. In response, Union Agriculture Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan has called for rapid and coordinated assessments of crop damage to inform relief measures.
In addition to weather-related challenges, the agricultural sector has faced pressure from rising input costs, linked to disruptions in global supply chains and shipping routes caused by ongoing conflicts in West Asia. While the government’s temporary waiver of customs duties on essential petrochemical inputs offers some relief, CropLife India notes that the full impact of this measure will likely be realized only in future production cycles.
Given a weaker monsoon forecast, the advisory underscores the importance of strong zaid crop performance as a financial buffer ahead of the upcoming kharif season, which remains vulnerable to climatic uncertainties. The industry body’s guidance aims to equip farmers with practical steps to optimize the fast-moving zaid season amidst these challenges.