Kharif sowing crosses last year mark, crosses 1082.22 lakh hectares

28 August 2020, New Delhi: The consistent monsoon showers this season has pushed the kharif sowing acreages to cross 1082.22 lakh hectares. Monsoon this year covered India 12 days in advance which helped in the timely sowing of major kharif crops.

Related News: Soybean crop loss in Madhya Pradesh, CM announces compensation

This year has seen an increase in area coverage by 7.15% compared to corresponding period of last year. However, a few areas of Madhya Pradesh have reported crop loss in soybean due to heavy rains. The state has also reported heavy virus infestation on chilli crop. Punjab, Haryana and Rajasthan have reported high white fly infestation on Cotton crop compared to last year.

Central Water Commission (CWC) has reported that the live water storage in 123 reservoirs in different parts of the country is 102% of the corresponding period of the last year.

The crop wise area sown is as under:

• Rice: About 389.81 lakh ha area coverage under rice as compared to 354.41 lakh ha. during the corresponding period of last year. Thus 35.40 lakh ha more area has been covered compared to last year.
• Pulses: About 134.57 lakh ha area coverage under pulses as compared to 128.65 lakh ha. during the corresponding period of last year. Thus 5.91 lakh ha more area has been covered compared to last year.
• Coarse Cereals: About 176.89 lakh ha area coverage under coarse cereals as compared to 172.49 lakh ha. during the corresponding period of last year. Thus 4.40 lakh ha more area has been covered compared to last year.
• Oilseeds: About 193.29 lakh ha area coverage under oilseeds as compared to 170.99 lakh ha. during the corresponding period of last year. Thus 22.30 lakh ha more area has been covered compared to last year.
• Sugarcane: About 52.29 lakh ha area coverage under sugarcane as compared to 51.68 lakh ha. during the corresponding period of last year. Thus 0.61 lakh ha more area has been covered compared to last year.
• Jute & Mesta: About 6.97 lakh ha area coverage under jute & mesta as compared to 6.86 lakh ha. during the corresponding period of last year. Thus 0.11 lakh ha more area has been covered compared to last year.
• Cotton: About 128.41 lakh ha area coverage under cotton as compared to 124.90 lakh ha. during the corresponding period of last year. Thus 3.50 lakh ha more area has been covered compared to last year.

Photo credit: innlai on Visual Hunt / CC BY