Paddy acreage rises nearly 4 pc so far this kharif season; pulses acreage falls 8 pc

Area under coverage for paddy has gone up about 4 per cent so far in the ongoing kharif sowing season to 398.08 lakh hectares, while pulses acreage declined 8 per cent. According to agriculture ministry data, paddy acreage stood at 383.79 lakh hectares (LH) in the same period last year.

The area under coverage for paddy has increased in Bihar by 5 lakh hectares, Chhattisgarh (4.66 LH), Jharkhand (1.82 LH), West Bengal (1.56 LH), Madhya Pradesh (1.48 LH), Haryana (1.29 LH), Uttar Pradesh (1.21 LH), Telangana (33,000 hectares) and Punjab (31,000 hectares). Paddy acreage has declined in Karnataka by 1.67 LH and Andhra Pradesh by 1.21 LH.

As per data released on Friday, the area under coverage for pulses has declined by 8 per cent to 119.09 LH from 130.13 LH in the year-ago period. The acreage of coarse cereals has increased marginally to 181.06 LH from 179.13 LH a year ago. Oilseeds sowing is also down slightly to 190.11 LH so far as against 191.91 LH.

Groundnut area has dipped to 43.37 LH from 45 LH, the acreage of soyabean has risen to 125.13 LH from 123.91 LH. The agriculture ministry data showed that area under coverage for cotton has decreased to 122.99 LH from 125.63 LH. However, sugarcane area is higher at 59.91 LH from 55.65 LH in the year-ago period. The total area under coverage in the ongoing kharif (summer sown) season has increased to 1,077.82 LH from 1,073.22 LH.

After the driest August in the country since 1901, the Southwest Monsoon is expected to revive over the weekend, bringing rain to central and southern parts of the country.  At a virtual press conference on Thursday, India Meteorological Department (IMD) Director General Mrutyunjay Mohapatra said September was likely to witness normal rainfall in the range of 91-109 per cent of the long period average of 167.9 mm.

Mohapatra has, however, said even if the rainfall in September was to remain on the higher side, the June-September seasonal rainfall average is expected to be below normal for the season.