Wheat sowing in the current rabi season is almost complete and the area covered has been marginally higher than previous year, the Agriculture Ministry said. However, the sowing of oilseeds and pulses has been slower so far, mainly on account of scanty rains in Maharashtra, Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh.
The area under wheat is up by about one per cent to 28.42 million hectares over the previous year's 28.34 million ha due to higher sowings in States such as Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Jharkhand. The prevailing cold wave in the North, coupled with scattered rains is seen aiding the wheat sowings and the early stage rabi crop.
However, the area covered under wheat in States such as Uttar Pradesh, Gujarat and Maharashtra has been lower. The final area under wheat in 2010-11 stood at 29.4 million ha. The Government is expecting wheat output of around 86 million tonnes like last year.
Though the area under wheat and rice is marginally up this year, the sowing of coarse cereals, pulses and oilseeds has been lower than previous year.
The area under oilseeds has been lower by 4.5 per cent this year at 8.09 million ha. This is mainly on account of lower area under rapeseed and mustard, which stood at 6.48 million ha this year against 6.82 million ha last year.
The area under sunflower has also seen a drop of around one per cent at 0.37 million ha against 0.46 million ha in the previous year, while the area under safflower has declined by half a per cent to 0.19 million ha against 0.23 million ha. States like Jharkhand, Tamil Nadu, Uttar Pradesh have seen a higher area under oilseeds, while that of Rajasthan, Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh have reported a lower area.
Sowing of pulses has also seen a dip of 1.72 per cent at 14.06 million ha against 14.23 million ha, mainly on account of less area in Maharashtra and Karnataka. The area under gram, a dominant rabi crop is lower at 8.7 million ha against 9.22 million ha last year.
vishwa@theindu.co.in