Soya, maize, redgram cut into cotton area in Telangana

Acreage of pulses and coarse grains have gained significantly in Telangana in the ongoing kharif season, while that of the main crops — paddy and cotton — have suffered.

The area under coarse grains (ragi, jowar, maize) has gone up to 6.21 lakh hectares (lh) as against the season normal of 5.58 lh.

The area under pulses too has gone up to 6 lh from the season normal of 4 lh.

The area under redgram, soyabean and maize has gone up significantly as farmers have begun to look at alternatives to cotton. The redgram area almost doubled to 4 lh from the as-on-date average of 2.29 lh.

The State grows the pulse crop on 2.60 lh on an average in the season. The greengram area went up to 1.50 lh from the season average area of 1 lh.

The maize area went up to 5.63 lakh hectares from the season average area of 4.91 lh. The soya area has breached the 3-lakh-hectares mark against the average area of 2 lh.

“There is still scope for more sowing in pulses and coarse grains. We expect a dip in the cotton area. It might end up a shade lower than season normal of 17 lh,” an official of the Agriculture Department has said.

The cotton area in Telangana, one of the top cotton growing States, generally overshoots the average area.

But this year, the government has begun a campaign well before the season, asking the farmers to go slow on cotton and go to soyabean and maize instead.

The government said cotton prices could fall this year in international market and could impact the prospects of farmers here.

Despite good spread of rains after a gap of 3-4 years, farmers sowed cotton only on 12.10 lh as on August 17.

They would have covered 15.22 lh by now.

“The reduction in area is a result of the government advisory,” the official claimed.

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