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Informist, Thursday, Sept. 11, 2025

By J. Navya Sruthi

MUMBAI - Floods in northwest India are likely to delay the harvesting and arrival of kharif crops, according to market participants. Furthermore, it will delay sowing of rabi crops, they said.

Sowing of rabi crops like wheat and mustard will be delayed by at least 15 days due to the recent heavy rainfall over the region, Rahul Chauhan, director of iGrain, said. "Wheat sowing in Punjab will start only in early November," he added.

Relentless rain in the past 10 days led to flash floods and landslides in Punjab, Haryana, Uttarakhand, Jammu & Kashmir, Delhi, and Himachal Pradesh. Last week, the water level in the Yamuna river rose above the danger mark, leading to the evacuation of nearly 10,000 people from low-lying areas in Delhi.

Rainfall in northwest India was 34% above normal rainfall at 265 millimetres in August, according to the India Meteorological Department. Of the total rainfall in August, 125.4 millimetres or over 47% was during Aug. 21-31. This led to severe loss of infrastructure, life, and crops. All 23 districts in Punjab were affected, making it the worst disaster since 1988, according to reports. Other states also suffered similar damage.

"There is a lot of silt in the fields and moisture content in soil is very high. Wheat and mustard do not require moisture to be as high as it has to be to grow paddy," Chauhan said. While these rabi crops need moisture, there should also be a little bit of heat in the soil, which will help with seed germination, he added.

Wheat crop is a dry-land crop and requires adequate moisture content in the soil during all growth stages but not flooding. In contrast, paddy is a wetland crop and thrives in flooded conditions.

On the other hand, G. Chandrashekhar, agri and commodity markets expert, said soil moisture should not be a problem as the moisture will easily evaporate if it is sunny for a week. The recent rains will in fact be favourable for the wheat crop. He said sowing of rabi crops will be delayed in districts of these states where sowing usually starts by mid-October.

Rabi crops in India are sown between October and December after the southwest monsoon and harvested between February and May. Traditionally, Punjab and Haryana have been India's top wheat producing states. In 2024-25 (Jul-Jun), Punjab and Haryana together accounted for 25% of the country's total wheat output of 17.5 million tonnes.  End

Edited by Ashish Shirke

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