KOLHAPUR: The grape crop over 195 hectare across seven talukas of Sangli district has been badly hit owing to untimely rainfall since the last two days.The district administration on Tuesday carried out a survey of the damage incurred and found that grape crop in Tasgaon, Palus, Khanapur and Atpadi talukas has been affected.The survey report claims that farmers will have to face losses since moisture in unripe grapes will lead to poor quality produce at the end of the season. Also, waterlogged fields will damage the roots of the plants and hinder the process of nutrition uptake - necessary at this stage for growth.An official of Sangli district administration said, "We have initiated the process to search for names of farmers who are registered with Prime Minister Fasal Bima Yojana (PMFBY). Those registered can get compensation according to the quantum of the losses."He added, "Expecting rainfall for next few days, we have initiated the process of counselling through experts from National Research Centre For Grapes in Manjri, near Pune, so that adequate steps can be taken by the farmers to protect their crop. Along with grapes, banana crops have also been damaged."The untimely rainfall led to inundation of the farms. Sugarcane cutting has been stopped and it has also affected the jaggery making process. The Kolhapur district administration has not initiated any survey to estimate primary losses as they are awaiting orders from the state government.However, an official said, "The rain are beneficial for rabbi crops as the long dry spell has led to decrease in the soil moisture content. In case of sugarcane, the untimely rain does not cause much damage as we observe for horticulture crops."Meanwhile, the north Maharashtra region has received rain for two consecutive days. Grapes in this region too took a beating. Talukas like Niphad, Dindori, Nandgao and Sinnar in Nashik district, known as the grape belt, received rain on Tuesday."Some rain was expected in the city and in northern parts of central Maharashtra on Tuesday, as a trough had formed over this region and parts of Marathwada . The rain is expected to recede over the next 24 to 48 hours, as the trough weakens," said Arvind Shrivastava, a senior scientist at IMD.

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