Following widespread rainfall in recent days, Kharif sowing has gathered momentum over the past week, with paddy acreage nearly reaching last year's level. However, sowing of pulses and coarse cereals continues to lag behind the corresponding period of last year, although the gap has narrowed compared to a week ago. Compared with Kharif 2025, pulses have been sown over 1.229 million hectares (15%) less area, while coarse cereals are down by 1.506 million hectares (11%). Oilseed acreage is also lower by 863,000 hectares, or 5.5%, from last year's level.
According to the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare's latest data as of July 17, total Kharif sowing across all crops has reached 65.819 million hectares, which is 6% lower than the 70.047 million hectares recorded during the same period last year. A week earlier, the shortfall exceeded 16%. During the entire Kharif 2025 season, crops were sown over 113.427 million hectares.
Paddy transplantation has been completed over 16.641 million hectares, compared with 16.783 million hectares by the same date last year. As a result, the gap has narrowed to just 0.84%, compared with 8.64% a week earlier (July 10). During the full Kharif 2025 season, paddy was cultivated over 44.67 million hectares. The average paddy area during the five years from 2020-21 to 2024-25 stood at 41.2 million hectares.
As of Friday, July 17, pulses had been sown over 6.923 million hectares, compared with 8.152 million hectares during the same period last year. Total pulse acreage during Kharif 2025 stood at 11.897 million hectares. A week earlier, pulse sowing was 23.32% below last year's level.
Among individual pulse crops, tur (pigeon pea) has been sown over 2.480 million hectares, compared with 3.017 million hectares last year, leaving a shortfall of 536,000 hectares. Urad (black gram) acreage stands at 1.351 million hectares, against 1.436 million hectares a year ago, while moong (green gram) has been sown over 2.398 million hectares, compared with 2.694 million hectares last year. Acreage under moth bean and other pulses also remains below last year's levels.
Coarse cereal sowing has reached 11.903 million hectares, compared with 13.409 million hectares during the corresponding period last year. During the full Kharif 2025 season, coarse cereals were cultivated over 19.212 million hectares. A week earlier, the acreage was 22.47% below last year's level.
Pearl millet (bajra) has been sown over 3.998 million hectares, which is 908,000 hectares less than last year. Sorghum (jowar) acreage stands at 874,000 hectares, down by 125,000 hectares from last year. Ragi (finger millet) has been sown over 106,000 hectares, about 40,000 hectares less than a year ago. Maize has been sown over 6.789 million hectares, compared with 7.15 million hectares during the same period last year.
Oilseed crops have been sown over 14.709 million hectares, compared with 15.572 million hectares by this time last year. During the full Kharif 2025 season, oilseeds covered 19.638 million hectares. A week earlier, oilseed acreage was 21% below last year's level.
Soybean, the principal Kharif oilseed crop, has been sown over 10.602 million hectares, compared with 11.105 million hectares during the same period last year. Groundnut acreage stands at 3.452 million hectares, compared with 3.769 million hectares last year. Sunflower acreage has increased to 88,000 hectares, up from 53,000 hectares a year ago, while sesame has been sown over 512,000 hectares, compared with 595,000 hectares last year.
Among cash crops, sugarcane acreage remains unchanged from the previous week's figure at 5.758 million hectares. During Kharif 2025, sugarcane had covered 5.672 million hectares by this stage and 5.884 million hectares during the entire season. Jute and mesta acreage has increased to 632,000 hectares, compared with 619,000 hectares last year. However, cotton acreage has reached only 9.253 million hectares, against 9.840 million hectares during the corresponding period last year, remaining nearly 6% lower. A week earlier, the shortfall in cotton acreage stood at 15.34%.