{
  "id": 11145390,
  "title": "Prolonged dry spell, brown disease hit cotton yield in Yadgir district of Karnataka",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/01/prolonged-dry-spell-brown-disease-hit-cotton-yield-in-yadgir-district",
  "topic": "world",
  "section": "World",
  "published": "2026-10-01T08:10:14.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "The Hindu",
    "slug": "the-hindu",
    "url": "https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/karnataka/prolonged-dry-spell-brown-disease-hit-cotton-yield-in-yadgir-district-of-karnataka/article71531763.ece"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "A prolonged dry spell and severe moisture deficiency have severely impacted cotton cultivation in Yadgir district, Karnataka, during the kharif season. Despite surpassing sowing targets, farmers are facing a substantial decrease in yield and significant financial losses. The Agriculture Department of Karnataka had set a target of 2.02 lakh hectares for cotton cultivation, but farmers managed to cover 2.20 lakh hectares, achieving 108% of the target after initial rainfall. However, the rainfall deficit later in the season proved detrimental to crop development.\n\nRainfall was below average in Yadgir between June and September, with only 339 mm recorded against a normal of 515 mm, marking a 34% precipitation deficit. Unfavorable weather conditions, soil moisture stress, and the subsequent brown disease and pest infestation affected both dry and irrigated lands. Farmers expressed concerns that timely rainfall during the critical growth phase could have improved the yield and made the crop more resilient to pest attacks and brown disease.\n\nYield projections for the region are disheartening. Rain-fed areas are expected to yield only 2 to 3 quintals per acre, while irrigated holdings anticipate 5 to 7 quintals per acre. Even with access to irrigation, farmers reported severe damage to crop quality due to changing weather conditions. Vijay Gulgi, a local farmer, mentioned that despite timely irrigation, he expects a yield of 5 to 6 quintals per acre, attributing the poor quality to weather impacts.\n\nThe financial strain on the farming community is immense. On average, growers incur around ₹30,000 per acre in expenses for seed procurement, weeding, chemical spraying, and general crop maintenance. While open-market prices for cotton currently range between ₹9,500 and ₹9,700 per quintal, the drastic drop in production could result in returns that fail to cover input costs. Chamarasa Malipatil, another prominent farmer leader, stated that growers are facing insurmountable losses this season, with most struggling to recover even half of their total expenditure on the current production.",
  "summary": "Farmers looking at massive losses despite covering 108% of target sowing area; yield drops to 2-3 quintals in rainfed areas",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}