Abnormal weather with unseasonal rains and low temperatures is hurting agriculture in India, affecting wheat and pulse crop in particular, said local daily Mail Today on Thursday.

The wheat and pulse crops have been adversely impacted because of the unseasonal showers and hail in the northern plains, while stone fruits such as plums and peaches have also taken a hit in north India because of hailstorms. Horticultural crops in India-controlled Kashmir have been affected as well, said the report.

According to the Indian Meteorological Department, the maximum temperatures are below normalcy by 3 degrees Celsius in parts of Punjab, Haryana, south Rajasthan, Gujarat and west Madhya Pradesh.

This is bad for the crops at this time of the year as maturing wheat and pulse crops need warm weather to facilitate grain formation.

The Indian Council of Agricultural Research said unless the weather improves and typical summer-like conditions set in, the yield of the rabi crop will fall significantly.

The Indian government forecast the rate of growth of the agricultural sector at 2.6 percent for the 2008-2009 fiscal year which ended March 31, compared with a robust rate of 4.9 percent in a previous financial year.

(Xinhua News Agency April 10, 2009)