The majority of farmers thus affected are small and marginal ones, who have no irrigation facilities and are totally dependent on the monsoon. Officials are undertaking a survey to quantify the damage, which has stunted the growth of the onion, bajra, jowar and other crops grown here.

They have urged jowar and bajra farmers to cut the standing crop if it has grown up to 18 inches in height and have not flowered, for use as fodder. They have also been advised to use urea on drying crops.

Paddy farmers in the hilly regions have been urged to provide water to the standing crop by tapping nearby ponds and even nallahs while groundnut farmers havebeen asked to spray diammonium phosphate on the crop.

Nashik is a major cultivator of onions and bajra, besides paddy in its hilly tribal regions. Onions are grown thrice a year in Kharif, late Kharif (winter) and Rabi (summer) seasons. Any shortfall in cultivation thus has an immediate impact on prices.

The failure of the kharif crop had resulted in onion prices touching an all-time high of Rs 40 per kg in the wholesale markets in Nashik district late last year. In event of the kharif onion harvest failing, the shortfall continues till the late Kharif crop is harvested in January.

Nashik district has an area of about 6.5 lakh hectares under kharif cultivation, which includes about 3.85 lakh hectares under cereals (the major crops being bajra in over 3 lakh hectares, paddy in 43,000 hectares and jowar in 20,000 hectares); 69,000 hectares under oilseeds; and 21,000 hectares under sugarcane.

In the Nashik division comprising Nashik, Dhule, Nandurbar, Jalgaon districts, the area under Kharif cultivationis around 14 lakh hectares, including about 10 lakh hectares under cereals, 3 lakh hectares under pulses and 73,000 hectares under oilseeds.