RAS question
Which of the following crops were primarily affected by the unseasonal hailstorms in Rajasthan, Punjab and Haryana in early April 2026?
Correct answer: (C) Wheat, mustard, gram and barley (rabi crops).
The early April 2026 unseasonal hailstorms in Rajasthan, Punjab and Haryana primarily affected ripening rabi crops: wheat, mustard, gram and barley.
Explanation
The answer is the rabi crop group: wheat, mustard, gram and barley. These were the ripening crops damaged by the early April 2026 hailstorms across Rajasthan, Punjab and Haryana. The India Meteorological Department bulletin warned of isolated hailstorm activity over Punjab, Haryana and Rajasthan during 6-8 April and, in its agromet advisory, asked farmers in affected regions to harvest matured crops immediately and shift them to safer places. That timing matters because early April falls around the maturity and harvest window for the listed rabi crops, making them the crops exposed to hail damage, unlike the kharif or plantation-crop options.
Why the other options are wrong
- (A) Paddy and sugarcane are kharif crops, so they were not the harvest-stage crops primarily exposed during the early-April rabi damage window.
- (B) Cotton and groundnut are also kharif crops, not the ripening rabi crops hit at that point.
- (D) Tea and coffee do not fit the Rajasthan-Punjab-Haryana crop context, which points instead to wheat, mustard, gram and barley.
Concept
This tests the agricultural seasons part of Geography and Science & Technology current affairs: matching a weather shock to the crop calendar. RAS often asks such questions because Rajasthan exam preparation requires linking IMD advisories, seasonal agriculture and crop vulnerability.