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Our Bureau

Chennai , Dec. 3

SOWING of foodgrains has begun to slacken, while that of mustard/rapeseed, groundnut and coarse cereals has picked up during the current rabi season.

According to the Agriculture Ministry, 100.46 lakh hectares (lh) have been brought under wheat but this is lower by 2.6 lh compared with the same period last year. While the area under wheat in Punjab, Haryana and Madhya Pradesh is up, it is down in Uttar Pradesh by 8.6 lh. Until last week, the area under wheat was up 5.2 lh.

Rice coverage continues to trail with the area in Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh being down.

However, sowing in coarse cereals has gathered pace, especially in the case of jowar. The area under jowar has increased by 0.1 lh to 47.01 lh. Coverage of maize is down marginally at 3.41 but sowing in barley is up 0.3 lh at 4.48 lh. The barley area in Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh is witnessing a rise, while Maharashtra growers seem to be opting for jowar on a large scale. In the case of maize, growers in Tamil Nadu seem to prefer it.

Pulses is one major crop that is showing a sharp decline in sowing. So far, 77.68 lh have been brought under pulses, a decrease of 8.9 lh compared with last year.

Sowing in mustard/rapeseed continues to be promising with the area increasing to 76.81 lh (73.24 lh). Area under groundnut safflower is also up. This is mainly on account of rise in area in Gujarat, Haryana, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka and Maharashtra.

The coverage of sunflower, sesamum and linseed is, however, down mainly due to poor sowing in Andhra Pradesh, Orissa, Tamil Nadu, Chhattisgarh.

The water storage position also continues to be better than last year, while the Ministry said there was no cause for concern on fertiliser availability.

More Stories on : Cultivation | Foodgrains | Oilseeds & Edible Oil

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Foodgrains sowing slips, oilseeds area up

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