Incessant rains damage soybean in Ngp Distt
   Date :31-Aug-2020

Incessant rains_1 &n
 
 
Business Bureau ;
 
While the incessant rains witnessed here for the past couple of days has battered the city badly, it seems to have also caused huge damage to agriculture produce all over the district. Though crops including green vegetables, tur and cotton among others have been affected due to the rains, soybean corp has been estimated to have one of the worst hit crops in Nagpur district. R J Bhosale, Joint Director Agriculture, Nagpur Division, said that roughly 25% to 30% soybean crop in the district is expected to have been damaged because of the heavy rains.
 
“We are yet to assess the loss but it appears that the crop in nearly 45,000 hectare area in the district has been affected. It will certainly bring down soybean production in the current season in the Nagpur district,” he said. Bhosale refused to comment on expected loss in soybean production saying it would be too early to predict the loss. However, sources said that the soybean production in the district may come down by 35-40%. “Soybean crops do not need heavy rains at this point in time. It harms the standing crop,” said the sources. According to the Agriculture Department, soybean was sown in nearly 1.02 lakh hectare area in the district in the current season. It is worth mentioning here that soybean cultivation had seen increased area in the current season as compared to previous season.
 
The impact of the expected loss has started reflecting in the prices of soybean seeds and soybean oil in the markets. For the past two to three days, the prices have gone up marginally and the sources believe that it would further go northwards in coming days. Soybean seeds were sold at a price of Rs 3,800 per quintal in the wholesale markets two to three days back. But today it went up to Rs 4,000 per quintal. Similarly, soybean oil price has also jumped from Rs 90-91 per kg to Rs 93-94 per kg over the same period. Sowing on soybean crop was done in June - July in the district and its cultivation is expected in September - October.