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Harish Damodaran

New Delhi, July 15 Deficient and delayed monsoon rains have spelt disaster for most farmers this time. But the story is less gloomy with regard to basmati rice, with the country probably even on course for a bumper harvest.

The current south-west monsoon season (June-September) has witnessed massive rainfall deficits in the two granary States of Punjab and Haryana – at minus 71 per cent and minus 62 per cent respectively as on July 8.

As a result, only 22.7 lakh hectares (lh) have till now been transplanted under paddy in Punjab, compared with 24.3 lh during this time last year, according to Dr B.S. Sidhu, the State’s Director of Agriculture. In Haryana, too, progressive acreage has fallen from 8.15 lh to 7.65 lh, said Mr Rajender Solanki, Joint Director (Statistics) of the State’s Department of Agriculture.

But even as overall paddy area has declined, it has not impacted basmati plantings, which, in fact, are expected to go up. “Last year, of the total 12.1 lh paddy area in Haryana, basmati accounted for two-thirds or 7.98 lh (including 3 lh under Pusa-1121). This time, the overall area might drop to 11.5 lh, but basmati’s share will easily top 70 per cent,” Mr Solanki told Business Line.

In Punjab, basmati occupied an estimated 3.5 lh hectares out of the total 27.35 lh under paddy last year. This year, it will certainly cross five lh, said Dr Sidhu.

The reason for basmati acreages rising in spite of overall paddy area shrinking is simple. In the case of regular (i.e. non-basmati) varieties, farmers in Punjab/Haryana normally sow paddy in the nurseries by May 25. The seedlings thus raised are transplanted into the main fields 25-30 days later towards around June 20.

In the event of late rains, nursery preparation may be extended up to June 15 for transplantation by July 15. Any delay beyond this can impact the crop during the flowering stage. “Ideally, flowering should happen during the first fortnight of September before temperatures start dipping. If flowering coincides with low temperatures, it affects grain-filling and results in green grain that is not marketable,” said Dr Sidhu.

But this problem does not arise in basmati, where the transplanting window is open till end-July or even the first week of August. “In non-basmati, harvesting must be completed by the second fortnight of October, whereas for basmati, this can be stretched up to mid-December,” said Mr R.S. Seshadri, Director, Tilda Riceland Ltd.

The extended dry weather this year meant that many farmers could not transplant regular paddy on time. Besides, there were those who sowed in the nurseries by May, only to see their seedlings burn out. “Quite a few of them might well opt for basmati,” he said.

Mr Anil Mittal, Chairman and Managing Director of KRBL Ltd, went a step further. “I think whatever paddy plantings you will see from now on, will be only in basmati. A farmer growing Pusa-1121 basmati may get only 20-25 quintals an acre, against 25-30 quintals for parmal (non-basmati) varieties. However, he will realise twice the price,” he added.

According to Dr A.K. Singh of the Indian Agricultural Research Institute’s Division of Genetics here, the onset of rains now is conducive for planting of basmati. “In traditional basmati varieties, flowering takes place only around October 10 and low temperatures then actually help in accumulation of 2-acetyl-1-pyrroline (the distinct aroma-conferring compound) in the grain. If temperatures are high, this compound will volatilise and there would less of the trademark basmati aroma,” he said.

During the 2008-09 marketing season, Punjab contributed 8.54 million tonnes (mt) and Haryana another 1.43 mt out of the total 31.5 mt rice procured for the Central pool. This year, the two States may not deliver their usual quota for the public distribution system, but might still end up producing a bumper crop of basmati.

More Stories on : Cultivation | Rice | Climate & Weather

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