India Himachal Pradesh map

A particularly long and heavy monsoon has wreaked havoc on vegetable production in the north Indian state of Himachal Pradesh, with much of the damage caused by heavy rainfall last week.

Local farmers told the Business Standard the production of tomatoes, capsicum’s, cabbage’s, potatoes and cucumber’s, among other vegetables, is significantly lower this year.

The excess moisture has triggered the spread of disease and also caused some standing crops to rot, say farmers.

The state’s agriculture department estimates 60 per cent of the area’s tomato crop has been lost.

'The production of vegetables this time is expected to be 550,000 tonnes whereas the target is 650,000 tonnes,' said state agriculture department director J C Rana.

Vegetables are grown mainly in the mid-hills of the state, which fall in the Solan, Shimla, Sirmaur, Mandi, Kullu and Bilaspur districts.