More Stories

Informist, Tuesday, Sept. 9, 2025

NEW DELHI – Persistent heavy rainfall through August in Punjab, Haryana, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, and Telangana has heightened concern about crop losses, a report released by Crisil Intelligence on Tuesday said. Crops in states including Punjab and Rajasthan are likely to be most hit, as per the report. 

Excessive rainfall in Punjab, which has flooded approximately 70,000 hectares of farmland, is seen affecting paddy, sugarcane, and cotton crops. The intelligence wing of the agency estimates yield losses at 5-10% for paddy and sugarcane, while cotton may see a 15-20% decline in yield.

Floods also severely damaged horticulture crops in the state, as per the report. "The early yield of cauliflower in Amritsar, Ludhiana, Moga, Kapurthala, Gurdaspur and Pathankot districts is affected by 10-15%, tomato transplanting is delayed and orchards of guava and pear showed moderate vulnerability to fungal diseases and pest attacks, affecting yield and quality prospects," it said. 

Haryana is seen facing spillover effects, as per the report, with border districts adjoining Punjab such as Sirsa, Fatehabad and Jind reporting crop stress. "Paddy fields have been showing premature flowering and bolting, signalling lower output in the state. Tomato has been moderately affected, while August carrot sowing has been delayed under waterlogged conditions," the report said.

Paddy crop in Uttar Pradesh along the banks of the Yamuna and Ganga and their tributaries, in places such as Lakhimpur, Gonda, Bahraich and Prayagraj may be affected, though damage was limited, the report said. Cucurbits in Saharanpur and Muzaffarnagar and chilli in Ghazipur, Varanasi and Mirzapur sustained losses, it said. In Bundelkhand, early monsoon rains have curtailed groundnut and soybean sowing, while green gram and black gram faced severe damage, it has said.

As per the report, heavy rainfall in Rajasthan has damaged bajra, jowar, soybean, groundnut, green gram, and black gram crops. "Lodging due to rainfall and high winds may lower production, while submergence-induced stem rot and stunted growth may lead to lower output," it said.

Pulses in Rajasthan are also seeing significant yield losses due to flower drop and poor pod setting, it said. Maize, paddy, and cotton, however, remain unaffected. The situation in Sikar, Rajasthan may change if incessant rains persist up till mid of September, which could lead to the onion crop, in vegetative stage, to face bulb formation losses due to waterlogging.

The agency sees varied impact in Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka and Telangana as localised flooding has caused limited stress in Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka. "Paddy, maize and cotton have been mostly unaffected, though yield has declined for pulses such as black and green gram from flower drop," as per the report. Disease has affected vegetable crops in Karnataka, with tomato showing blight and leaf spot, gourds affected by powdery mildew and onions hit by rot, the report said. Similar concern about onion, it said, has also been reported in Maharashtra. Telangana, however, has faced severe floods, leading to widespread submergence. "Yield is expected to decline for cotton at the flowering stage, while paddy and maize have remained largely unaffected," it said. 

September's rainfall pattern will be critical with the India Meteorological Department projecting above-normal precipitation across northern and central India. This coincides with key growth stages for paddy, cotton, soybean, maize and onion, making the month vital for crop health and yield. Any further production losses could intensify supply-side pressures, raise food inflation risks and weigh on consumption and price stability, the report concluded. 

With over 40% of the farmland still remaining rain-fed after enhanced irrigation coverage, the Southwest monsoon plays a key role as it delivers 76% of the country's total rainfall. Over the past 10 years, rainfall deviations of (-)14% to 10% have affected sowing, yields and prices, the report said. Erratic rains also stand the chance to harden inflation since food makes up 47% of the Consumer Price Index basket and a 47% and 40% share of rural and urban household spending, respectively. End

Reported by Pallavi Singhal

Edited by Akul Nishant Akhoury

For users of real-time market data terminals, Informist news is available exclusively on the NSE Cogencis WorkStation.

Cogencis news is now Informist news. This follows the acquisition of Cogencis Information Services Ltd. by NSE Data & Analytics Ltd., a 100% subsidiary of the National Stock Exchange of India Ltd. As a part of the transaction, the news department of Cogencis has been sold to Informist Media Pvt. Ltd.

Informist Media Tel +91 (11) 4220-1000

Send comments to feedback@informistmedia.com

© Informist Media Pvt. Ltd. 2025. All rights reserved.