New Delhi: India's summer (zaid) crops, including maize, moong, and groundnut, have remained resilient despite scorching heat across several parts of the country. However, an extended heatwave could hurt both yields and crop quality, a senior agricultural scientist warned on Wednesday.
Field reports suggest that these short-duration crops, grown between rabi and kharif seasons, are largely holding up, supported by timely irrigation, M.L. Jat, secretary, Department of Agricultural Research and Education, and director general of the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR), told Mint in a telephonic interview.
However, concerns are mounting that a prolonged spell of high temperatures extending into May could begin to adversely affect yields and crop quality, he added. This could weigh on India's farm output, as summer crops account for around 5.34% of the country's total foodgrain production of 357.73 million tonnes (mt).
The India Meteorological Department (IMD) on 31 March warned of an above-normal number of heatwave days across large parts of east and east-central India, the southeastern peninsula, and pockets of northwest and west-central regions during the April-June period. Currently, most regions of the country are experiencing higher-than-usual heatwave days, including northwestern region, central India and peninsular regions.
The IMD, in its latest update, said maximum temperatures over northwest India—excluding Uttar Pradesh—are likely to remain largely unchanged until 29 April. A gradual rise of 2-3°C is expected on 30 April and 1 May, followed by a decline of 2-3°C between 2 May and 5 May.
On 28 April, maximum day temperatures were in the range of 40-46°C over most parts of the country except western Himalayan region, northeast Bihar, northeast India, where they were below 36°C. The highest maximum temperature of 45.6°C was reported at Banda, Uttar Pradesh.
Experts say above-normal temperature is likely to increase the cost of farm production.
“Above-normal temperatures are expected to raise production costs for farmers cultivating summer crops, as heat stress increases irrigation needs and accelerates soil moisture loss. Farmers may face increased electricity or diesel expenses to run pumps more frequently," said Sudhir Panwar, farm expert and former member of the Uttar Pradesh Planning Commission.
Queries emailed to the ministry of agriculture and farmers welfare remained unanswered till the press time.
As of 24 April, the total area under summer crops rose marginally by 211,000 hectares to 7.23 million hectares in 2026, driven by increased sowing of pulses, coarse cereals and oilseeds, according to official data. Officials said sowing activity is expected to gather pace in the coming weeks as more regions complete irrigation cycles. The total summer crop area last year was at 8.39 million hectares, compared with a normal area of 7.53 million hectares.
The area under rice stood at 3.06 million hectares as of 24 April, lower than 3.23 million hectares sown during the same period in 2025 and below the normal acreage of 3.15 million hectares.
In contrast, pulses acreage rose to 1.71 million hectares, from 1.59 million hectares a year ago. Among pulses, black gram registered a notable increase of 96,000 hectares while green gram also posted marginal gains of 18,000 hectares. Also, area under Shree Anna (coarse cereals) reached 1.52 million hectares, higher than 1.42 million hectares last year. The increase was driven largely by maize, which expanded to 950,000 hectares, up by 100,000 hectares.
Oilseeds recorded one of the sharpest increases, with total coverage at 921,000 hectares, compared to 771,000 hectares in the same period last year. Groundnut led the surge, rising by 131,000 hectares, followed by sunflower and sesamum.
"The expansion in area is likely to support output and ease price pressures in key commodities, though rising temperatures could push up irrigation and input costs, tempering overall farm margins," added Panwar.
"Above-normal night temperatures are expected, with maximum temperatures likely exceeding averages in these regions during summer (April-June)," said an IMD scientist on the condition of anonymity.
The increase in acreage for water-efficient crops such as pulses and millets is seen as significant amid rising temperatures and heatwave conditions across several parts of the country.
India’s central pool foodgrain stocks remained significantly above the prescribed buffer norms throughout 2025-26, reflecting a comfortable supply position, according to official data. As of 31 March, total foodgrain stocks stood at 60.4 mt, much more than the buffer requirement of 21.04 mt. A commodity-wise breakdown shows wheat stock was at 21.79 mt on 31 March 2026 while rice stocks was 38.61 mt.