Rabi 2023: Wheat acreage crosses 340 lakh hectares, Pulses down by 4%

04 February 2024, New Delhi: Rabi season sowing is nearing its end in the country. According to the latest data released by the Ministry of Agriculture, Rabi crops have been sown in a total of 709.29 lakh hectares across the country, whereas last year it was sown in 709.09 lakh hectares. There has been an increase in the area of wheat, while the sowing of pulses has decreased. Besides, there has been an increase in the area of oilseed and coarse grain crops.

Among the major crops of Rabi season, a slight increase of 1 percent has been seen in the area of wheat. So far wheat sowing has been recorded in a total area of 341.57 lakh hectares.

Area of Oilseeds remains the same

In this Rabi season, oilseed crops have been sown in 110.96 lakh hectares, which is 1 percent more than the sowing in 109.76 lakh hectares in the previous same period. The sowing of mustard, the main oilseed crop of the Rabi season, increased from 97.97 lakh hectares to 100.44 lakh hectares. However, the area under groundnut decreased from 5.68 lakh hectares to 4.88 lakh hectares.

Reduction in the area of Pulses

Pulses have been sown in a total of 160.08 lakh hectares which is 4 percent less than the area sown in the same period last year which is 166.19 lakh hectares. The sowing of gram decreased from 110.71 lakh hectares to 104.74 lakh hectares. The area of Urad was seen at 6.96 lakh hectares. Also, the area of moong decreased from 6.78 lakh hectares to 5.93 lakh hectares.

Rabi 2023 Final Acreages (in Lakh hectares)

S.No.	Crops	Normal Rabi Area (DES)	Area Sown 2023-24	Area Sown 2022-23	Difference over last year
1	Wheat	307.32	341.57	339.20	2.37
2	Paddy	52.50	39.29	40.37	-1.07
3	Pulses	152.74	160.08	166.19	-6.11
a	Gram	100.92	104.74	110.71	-5.97
b	Lentil	14.37	19.57	18.52	1.05
c	Fieldpea	6.50	10.14	9.64	0.50
d	Kulthi	1.98	4.08	4.08	0.00
e	Urdbean	8.81	6.96	7.73	-0.78
f	Moongbean	12.02	5.93	6.78	-0.85
g	Lathyrus	2.90	3.60	3.45	0.15
h	Other Pulses	5.23	5.06	5.29	-0.22
4	Shri Anna -cum- Coarse cereals	51.32	57.38	53.57	3.81
a	Jowar	25.23	25.17	22.37	2.80
b	Bajra	0.00	0.17	0.16	0.01
c	Ragi	0.00	0.76	0.86	-0.10
d	Maize	20.41	23.08	22.62	0.46
e	Barley	5.68	8.21	7.57	0.65
5	Oilseeds	84.45	110.96	109.76	1.20
a	Rapeseed & Mustard	73.06	100.44	97.97	2.47
b	Groundnut	6.94	4.88	5.68	-0.80
c	Safflower	0.69	0.79	0.86	-0.07
d	Sunflower	1.30	0.57	0.92	-0.34
e	Sesamum	0.52	0.58	0.56	0.02
f	Linseed	1.94	3.30	3.20	0.10
g	Other Oilseeds	0.00	0.40	0.58	-0.18
	Total Crops	648.33	709.29	709.09	0.20

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