PUNE, Sept. 19 -- While the official panchnama of crop damage is yet to be carried out, agriculture department officials estimate at least 25% of the standing crops in eight districts of Marathwada to have been damaged due to a prolonged dry spell. "Although the official panchnama of crop damage is yet to be carried out, our assessment is that over 25% of the standing crops have wilted as there has been no rain in the region for the last 45 days. A sizeable section of farmers is under stress due to crop failure," officials said. Marathwada received 424.5 mm of rainfall between June and September so far, which is 69.2% of the average 679.5 mm rainfall recorded in these four months. Last year, Marathwada received 119% of its average rainfall. This Kharif season, crops such as soybean, cotton and maize were sown across 47.69 lakh hectares in Marathwada's eight districts - Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar, Beed, Jalna, Nanded, Parbhani, Hingoli, Dharashiv and Latur. According to agriculture department officials, a sizeable portion of the soybean crop across the region has completely dried up, with leaves turning pale yellow due to a lack of moisture in the soil. Cotton crops too have shown stunted growth, which is likely to affect productivity. The condition of other crops including maize and tur is also poor, officials said. "Yesterday, there was light to moderate rain in some districts, including Beed and Nanded. Light to moderate rain has also been forecast in some districts until September 22. But it will hardly help farmers as crop damage has already occurred," officials said. Apart from Marathwada, all five districts in the Amravati division have also been severely affected by the protracted dry spell. "The Amravati division has so far received 72% of its average rainfall of over 693 mm between June and September," officials said. State agriculture minister Dattatray Bharne said that Marathwada appears to be the 'worst hit' in terms of crop damage due to poor rainfall....