Kharif sowing touches 800 lakh hectares

Planting has been completed in three-fourth of kharif sowing area already, riding mainly on good monsoon and higher water storage in reservoirs.

According to weekly data released by Agriculture Ministry on Friday, kharif sowing has so far covered around 800 lakh hectares (lh), nearly 18.5 per cent more area than 675 lh planted in the corresponding week last year.

There is nearly 25 per cent more planting in pulses and oilseed crops as compared to same week last year. Thanks to increase in sowing in Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra and Karnataka, the area under pulses crops touched nearly 100 lh as compared to 79 lh in the same period last year.

Oilseeds, on the other hand, covered 166 lh as against 123 lh in the corresponding week last year with Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra accounting for more than 100 lh. While these two States accounted for nearly 85 per cent of soyabean planted area in the country, Gujarat increased groundnut cultivation area by nearly 50 per cent to 20 lh as compared to same week last year.

Spurt in rice planting

Rice planting too witnessed a spurt this week with farmers covering more than 220 lh, nearly 17 per more than about 188 lh planted in the same period in the previous year. With a total coverage of 118 lh, cotton is already close to normal planting area and about 23 per cent more than 96 lh planted this time last year.

Similarly, uptick in bajra and maize cultivation pushed the total area under coarse cerals by 14 per cent to 137 lh. The area covered in the corresponding week last year was 120 lh.

Till Wednesday, the country as a whole received 289 millimetres of rainfall, nearly 6 per cent more than the normal of 366 mm. About 70 per cent of 685 districts in the country have received normal or excess monsoon rains till Wednesday.

There is nearly 66.37 billion cubic metres (BCM) of water in 123 reservoirs regularly monitored by the Central Water Commission. This is nearly 55 per cent more than 42.83 BCM water available in these water bodies in the corresponding week last year.