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The planting of kharif crops such as rice and oilseeds is expected to gain momentum with the advancement of the South West Monsoon to parts of Central India after covering the peninsular region .
Total kharif acreage, till June 5, stood at 67.60 lakh hectares (ha) against last year’s 73.60 lakh ha.
Rice
The acreage under rice, so far, stood at 5.234 lakh ha against corresponding last year’s 6.224 lakh ha. In states like Tamil Nadu, Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh, the rice planting has picked up, while it is slower than corresponding last year in Odisha and Assam. The planting of kharif oilseeds such as groundnut, sesamum and castor has started in states such as Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu.
Cotton
Cotton acreage has further improved with the commencement of planting in South India, mainly in Karnataka. A total of 11.70 lakh ha has been covered under the fibre crop, as against 11.72 lakh ha last year. In the northern states of Haryana, Punjab, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh the total cotton acreage stood at 11.14 lakh ha this year, against corresponding last year’s 11.02 lakh ha.
Sugarcane
The sugarcane acreage this year has been lower at 42.09 lakh ha against last year’s 46.78 lakh ha as drought affected Maharashtra and Karnataka have reported lower area.
Live storage levels
The timely arrival of monsoon this year has led to marginal improvement in water storage levels at major reservoirs.
The live storage levels as on June 6 in about 85 important reservoirs stood at 31.521 billion cubic meters (BCM) or about 20 per cent of the storage capacity at full reservoir levels (FRL). In the corresponding period last year, the live storage in these reservoirs stood at 29.172 BCM or 19 per cent of the storage capacity at FRL.
According to the Central Water Commission, the current year’s storage is nearly 108 per cent of the last year’s levels and 126 per cent of the average of last 10 years. About 47 reservoirs have storage of more than 80 per cent, while 14 have storage of 51 to 80 per cent. Seven reservoirs have storage of 31 to 50 per cent of the normal storage levels, while nine of them have no live water storage.
The Indian Metrological Department has predicted a normal monsoon this year and the country is expected to receive 98 per cent of the rainfall. According to agency reports, the monsoon is expected to hit Mumbai in the next 48 hours and enter Rajasthan, about three to four days ahead of schedule.
Vishwanath.kulkarni@thehindu.co.in
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