By IANS,
Gandhinagar : Around 15 percent of Gujarat’s standing crops have been destroyed because of deficient rains between July 27 and Aug 29, an agriculture department official said.
Eleven districts in central and north Gujarat received 40 percent less rainfall for a little over a month after July 27.
These districts experienced normal rainfall at the end of August during the second spell of monsoon, but it was too late to save standing crops that include groundnut, maize and barley, the official said.
Had August too had gone without rains, he said, Gujarat would have lost 50 percent of its standing crops.
Most farmlands in the state are near dams and canals in central and north Gujarat, which were nearly empty before the second spell of rainfall over three days from Aug 29.
Groundnut crops in parts of the Saurashtra region in Junagadh and Porbander districts were destroyed during floods during the first heavy showers of the monsoon, which could further impact the final output figures, the official added.