Better-than-usual acreage under pulses and oilseeds has lifted kharif sowing this week even though it continues to be marginally lower than in the corresponding period last year.

Till Friday, the total area planted stood at 924.76 lakh hectares (lh), which is about 1.48 per cent lower than 938.66 lh sown during the same period last year, according to the latest sowing data released by the Agriculture Ministry.

The planting of rice was down by 2.85 per cent on lack of rains as compared to last year. While there was a significant increase in transplantation reported from many States, including Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, Odisha, Haryana and Punjab, the rice acreage was down in West Bengal, Manipur and Assam. The area covered under rice was at 307.78 lh.

Coverage of pulses was done on 124.15 lh – a tad lower than last year’s acreage – but more than a million hectares higher than the normal area sown during the kharif season. While moong and arhar planting looks promising, urad was down by nearly 12 per cent to less than 35 lh.

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Acreage of oilseeds, driven mainly by a rise in soyabean coverage, was at 162.47 lh, which is over 5 per cent compared to the last kharif season so far.

Among coarse cereals, the area under jowar was up 11 per cent from the corresponding week last year, but bajra’s area was lower by the same percentage.

The area under cotton cultivation, still down by 3.85 per cent as compared to the corresponding period last year, managed to cross 112 lh. While higher acreage under cotton was reported mainly from Telangana, Maharashtra and Rajasthan, cultivation was down in Punjab and Karnataka.

The country as a whole received 481.2 mm rainfall against the normal of 535.6 mm and the overall rainfall deficit stood at 10 per cent, the official statement said. The major rainfall deficit States are Gujarat (20 per cent), Jharkhand (25 per cent) and some North-Eastern States.

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