Early Cotton Sowing Backfires in Adilabad; Re-sowing Begins
By yash chouhan 2026-06-24 11:34:31
Early Cotton Sowing Proves Costly for Adilabad Farmers; Re-sowing Required
Adilabad: Farmers in the erstwhile Adilabad district who sowed cotton early this Kharif season are facing losses. In many fields sown during the first week of June, cotton seeds failed to germinate properly due to a lack of adequate moisture and rainfall, forcing farmers to undertake re-sowing.
Farmers state that they purchased cotton seeds at a rate of approximately ₹800 per packet. Additionally, they incurred extra expenses on field preparation and labor. The failure of the monsoon to become active on time has increased costs for those who sowed early.
According to the Agriculture Department, sowing operations for cotton, red gram (tur), and soybean are currently underway in the district. Although there were one or two spells of rain in some areas, the cotton seeds sown in the initial phase did not receive sufficient moisture. Consequently, germination was poor in many fields, and farmers are having to sow seeds again in the gaps.
Unofficial estimates indicate that cotton sowing has been completed on approximately 60 percent of the district's normal cultivation area so far. Last year, cotton was cultivated on about 4.30 lakh acres of land in Adilabad.
Marsakola Sarangarao, a farmer from Mamidiguda village in Adilabad Rural Mandal, reported that he sowed cotton on 18 acres of land on June 5. He used 20 packets of seeds and incurred an expenditure of around ₹30,000. However, the lack of rain affected crop germination. He mentioned that he had expected good rainfall after sowing, but that expectation was not met.
District Agriculture Officer Ravinder Singh stated that cotton sowing has been completed on 1.60 lakh acres so far, against a target of four lakh acres. He expressed hope that recent rains would improve the germination of seeds sown in the initial phase and boost crop growth. Meanwhile, some farmers are trying to save their crops with the help of sprinkler and drip irrigation.
