Spectacular increase in sowing activity in Madhya Pradesh has pulled up wheat even as other crops registered a below par performance as compared to the corresponding week last year, showed rabi crop sowing data released by Agriculture Ministry on Friday.

The area under wheat cultivation in Madhya Pradesh stood at 41.08 lakh hectares (LH) this week, about 24 per cent more than 33.23 lh planted in the same week last year, taking the overall wheat area for the country to 194.49 lh , which is nearly 2 per cent more than last year.

The cumulative area for all crops, on the other hand, 6 per cent lower than last year at 414.29 lh LH, the data showed.

Barring wheat, all other crop categories have reported lower acreage as compared to the same period last year. Oilseeds, which reported better acreage till last week, have for the first time slipped to below that in the previous rabi season. As against 67.34 lh covered in the corresponding period in 2017-18, the area under oilseeds till this week was 65.45 lh .

The shrinkage in pulses area continued to be more than 10 per cent so far this year.

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The area under pulses till this week was 113.69 lh as compared to 126.78 lh same period in 2017-18. Gram, the main rabi pulses crop, reported 13 per cent shortfall with the area dropping to 77.27 lh as compared to 88.94 LH same week last year. Coarse cereals, on the other hand, reported a 26 per cent drop in area with acreage slumping to 33 lh this week as compared to 44.62 lh in the same period in 2017-18.

There is a significant 36 per cent shortfall in rice sown area too, thanks mainly to dismal performance reported from Tamil Nadu. As compared to 11.92 lh in the corresponding period last year, rice is sown only in 7.58 lh so far.

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