The pace of kharif crop sowing has slowed over the past week. The total area under kharif crops increased by 14.40 lakh hectares during the week, but according to data available on the Ministry of Agriculture’s UPAJ portal, the gap in the area under paddy as well as total kharif crops compared with last year has widened.
The area sown under all kharif crops is currently 1.73% lower than last year, compared with a gap of 1.50% a week earlier. During the 2025-26 kharif season, sowing had covered 1,090.01 lakh hectares by August 28. This year, the area has reached 1,071.10 lakh hectares. Thus, kharif sowing is 18.91 lakh hectares behind last year. The average area under different kharif crops during the season has been around 1,104.25 lakh hectares.
Paddy
The area under paddy is 3.35% lower than last year, with the gap widening from 3.15% a week earlier. Paddy has so far been sown across 414.10 lakh hectares, compared with 428.46 lakh hectares during the corresponding period last year. However, the current acreage remains above the long-term average of around 412 lakh hectares.
Pulses
Among pulses, the area under horse gram, moong and other pulses is currently lower than last year. However, the total area under pulses has surpassed the corresponding acreage recorded during the 2025-26 kharif season. Total pulse sowing has reached 115.05 lakh hectares, compared with 113.66 lakh hectares last year. However, it remains below the average acreage of 123.63 lakh hectares.
Tur (pigeon pea) has been sown across 44.59 lakh hectares, compared with 44.31 lakh hectares last year. The area under urad has also increased to 24.69 lakh hectares, from 22.11 lakh hectares a year ago.
Coarse Cereals
The shortfall in the area under coarse cereals widened during the week, from 1.92% to 2.31%. Ragi recorded the steepest decline, with its acreage down 30.30% from last year. The area under ragi currently stands at 5.48 lakh hectares, compared with 7.86 lakh hectares last year.
Maize acreage is also down 4.14%, at 89.99 lakh hectares compared with 93.87 lakh hectares a year earlier. However, the areas under jowar, bajra and other small millets are slightly higher than last year.
Oilseeds
The gap in oilseed sowing widened from 0.17% to 0.52% over the past week. Soybean, the major oilseed crop, has been sown across 121.72 lakh hectares, compared with 122.95 lakh hectares last year. The area under groundnut is also slightly lower at 49.09 lakh hectares, against 49.71 lakh hectares a year earlier.
In contrast, sesame acreage has increased to 10.84 lakh hectares, from 9.43 lakh hectares last year. Sunflower has also recorded a significant increase, with acreage rising to 1.13 lakh hectares, compared with 0.63 lakh hectares during the corresponding period last year.
Sugarcane and Cotton
The area under sugarcane has reached 58.46 lakh hectares, slightly below the 58.87 lakh hectares recorded by this time last year. However, the current acreage remains well above the historical average of 54.20 lakh hectares. The area under jute and mesta has also increased to 6.34 lakh hectares, compared with 6.23 lakh hectares last year.
Cotton acreage, however, remains marginally lower than last year. Cotton has so far been sown across 108.80 lakh hectares, compared with 109.23 lakh hectares during the corresponding period last year.