26 September 2023
Learning from the previous season’s prices summer 2023 growing season was hedged between cotton (~12 acres), pigeonpea (intercropped on 12 acres) and soybean (~4 acres). Planting was completed by July first week. In the following ten weeks until 26 September, the region’s rainfall has been normal and well distributed. More number of rainy days meant that we didn’t have to irrigate cotton plants with sprinklers on sunnier days.
Cotton is growing steady. Flowers are turning to bolls. There are an average of 50-60 bolls per plant, which might lead to a good yield. With sunny days the bolls should open up soon, revealing fluffy cotton. No major pest or worm concern yet. The only major threat at this stage are hordes of monkeys. Green, tender cotton bolls are nutritious and a very appealing food for monkeys. A single attack lasting less than two hours can lead to substantial loss of cotton yielding bolls. There have been a couple of attacks already on the 8 acre plot. The plot has a tall 8-foot fence with four lines of battery powered, electric-shock inducing fence. The high transmission grid tower on the plot is a favorite place for them to escape and hole up for the night, only to descend down in early hours of the day and continue eating the cotton bolls. We are blocking the access to the tower by loops of concertina wire wrapped around the access points. Monkeys can cause damages as high as 50-60% of the yield if unchecked.
Soybean has had a fungal disease infestation in the region. We anticipate 20-30% impact on yield from the infestation. Over 11 villages have had complete loss of their soybean crop. Several representations from farmer groups were made to the district collector’s office. The district administration constituted a team of scientists to visit farms and assess the damage. There were a couple of crop scientists from the regional soybean research center. This bunch shows up only when it is too late. Local newspaper covered their visit and findings. No questions raised on seed quality. On the contrary, the team ended up prescribing more rounds of fungicide spray to farmers who have not lost all of their crop. It cannot get more epic than this!
Pigeonpea plants appear healthy for now. Water logging in some patches led to wilting in several patches. Those plants didn’t survive the excess soil moisture. With the current retail price of processed tur dal at INR 200-220 in the local market, the current crop which will be in the market by January 2024 might get better returns than the previous season.
Cotton picking should begin by November, 2023. Pigeonpea harvest is expected in January 2024. Soybean harvest is due in 2-3 weeks from now. Much can go wrong with the crops in this duration, weather-wise and health-wise. The bottomline is that there is staggering level of uncertainty and risk in growing crops in comparison to other options of livelihood that the economy presents.
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