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Our Bureau

Chennai, Nov. 7

Area under all rabi crops, barring rice, is showing a rise even as sowing gathers momentum. The Agriculture Ministry’s latest data shows that farmers have been helped by good rainfall in September under the influence of the south-west monsoon.

Better rabi sowing was expected as the kharif crop was affected due to a dry spell between July and August after a good rainfall at the beginning of the monsoon season. This is in view of good storage levels and more importantly, conducive soil moisture too.

However, rice sowing is yet to begin as harvest has been delayed, particularly in the South. Till now, 23 lakh hectares (lh) have been brought under wheat against 21 lh during the corresponding period a year ago.

More promising is the coverage under pulses, which is witnessing a sharp rise. So far, 63.8 lh have been covered under pulses against 39 lh. In particular, sowing under chana or gram has increased to 44.6 lh (29.1 lh).

Coarse cereals coverage has improved to 39.7 lh (32.6 lh) with the area under maize rising to 1.8 lh against 1.1 lh. Maize sowing is a bit lower as harvest of kharif maize is yet to be completed, particularly in the South.

“This time, maize harvest has been delayed and in turn, the arrivals. However, we expect better coverage of maize during rabi season also,” said Mr A. Rajkumar of Alagendran Group of Companies, which exports maize.

Oilseeds, which have been affected a bit in the kharif season due to erratic monsoon, are showing promise, particularly mustard. Coverage of mustard has increased to 34.8 lh (21.2 lh), while groundnut, too, has gone up to 1.5 lh from 1.2 lh.

Overall, the area under oilseeds has increased to 46.7 lh against 31.5 lh during the corresponding period a year ago.

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