The crop condition in the state, especially paddy, seems good due to the recent rains in the state. So far paddy nurseries have been planted in 18.50 lakh hectares till September 5 and this was 89 per cent of the normal sowing area as on the date.
The target for the whole season is 26.48 lakh hectares and for the period till Wednesday was 20.75 lakh hectares.
Farmers got the much needed relief in August and September as the rainfall deficit of 24 per cent declined to 3 per cent on August 31.
Heavy rains lashed the state on September 2 and 3 under the influence of the low pressure area lying close to the north and south coastal Andhra, and Telangana districts.
Though copious rains in the last few weeks have helped the state achieve the average rainfall, the distribution of rainfall was not uniform, sources in the agriculture department say.
Against a normal rainfall of 504.9 mm the state has received 523.9 mm. According to official sources, West Godavari, Krishna and Guntur districts received 20 per cent excess rainfall and all other districts normal rainfall.
The total area sown so far is 71.38 lakh hectares, which is 89 per cent of the normal extent of 80.29 lakh hectares sown in a season.The normal sown area as on date is 73.83 lakh hectares which means that sowing has been completed in 97 per cent of the normal area till September 5.
The transplantation of paddy will be completed by first fortnight of September in the Godavari delta. Sowing of rain-fed crops were completed. Due to incessant rains, Godavari witnessed a significant water level received after a long gap. The recent rains provided relief to farmers and encouraged them to go for transplantation in the current kharif.
Transplantation in fields under the Krishna delta is complete by 83 per cent. Due to the recent rains, several minor irrigation reservoirs are full in the districts of West Godavari, Krishna, Khammam, Warangal and Adilabad.
Due to insufficient water level at Nagarjuna Sagar, paddy cultivation will be adversely affected in Krishna delta. The farmers under Krishna delta and Nagarjuna Sagar ayacut have been advised to raise short-duration alternative crops.
Harvesting of early kharif paddy is in progress in Nellore and Chittoor districts. Pulses are at flowering to pod development stage, sugar cane at the cane development stage, groundnut flowering to peg formation stage, maize is at cob formation stage and cotton is at the vegetative stage.
But paddy is infested with low-intensity pests and diseases in East Godavari, Krishna, Nellore, West Godavari, Chittoor, Visakhapatnam, Guntur and Nalgonda districts.
Stem bore, leaf folder, Hispa, mite, sheath blight and zinc deficiency are also affecting the paddy crop in these districts.