India, Feb. 9 -- BATHINDA

Once producing nearly 70% of India's kinnow crop, orchardists in Punjab's Fazilka district are staring at a dark future for the citrus fruit ahead of the upcoming season starting next month when the flowering will start.

A sharp increase in saline groundwater levels over the past year has posed a serious threat to decades-old agricultural diversification, with farmers in the semi-arid Abohar belt now exploring options to switch to paddy cultivation and other crops. Heavy rains that hit the semi-arid zone of south Malwa in August last year worsened the situation, causing subsurface saline water levels to rise from 10-11 feet to as little as 3 feet in several villages. Many orchards, sensitive to waterlogging and...