The Hindu Business Line : Area under most crops increases; rice trails

New Delhi, Aug. 24 A prolonged dry spell across North-West India is some cause for concern, even as there has been a significant increase in area sown under most crops in the current kharif season.

According to the India Meteorological Department (IMD), the country as a whole has received an area-weighted rainfall of 669.6 millimetres (mm) during the ongoing south-west monsoon season (June-September) till August 22, which is 2.7 per cent higher than the historical ‘normal’ or long period average (LPA) of 652.1 mm for this period.

However, the north-western States have not recorded particularly good rains so far, with the cumulative shortfall over the LPA amounting to 18.3 per cent in West Rajasthan, 11.9 per cent in Rajasthan, 16.3 per cent in Punjab, 28.3 per cent in Haryana/Delhi and 30.6 per cent in West Uttar Pradesh (UP).

The consolation though is that the Punjab-Haryana-West UP belt has a perennial irrigation cover. The heavy precipitation in Uttaranchal and the hills, too, has ensured that the canals and reservoirs have sufficient water this time. Even in Rajasthan, the live storage position in Rana Pratap Sagar and Mahi Bajaj Sagar reservoirs is reported to be satisfactory. Thus, there is no crisis situation as of now.

The monsoon has been pretty good in the rest of the country, barring a few patches such as Telangana, Marathwada, east Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh and the North-East.

The IMD has predicted enhanced rainfall activity over the North-East in the coming week, while being ‘scattered’ over the peninsula and ‘subdued’ elsewhere.

But the overall munificent monsoon has ensured higher planting under coarse cereals (particularly bajra and maize), pulses, oilseeds (especially soyabean and groundnut), cotton and sugarcane. Only rice has bucked the trend till now, mainly due to lower coverage in Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh.

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