Rabi sowing in Gujarat has kicked-off with farmers looking at a blooming season amid ample water availability following a good monsoon.
Initial reports from the ground suggest the sowing for pulses, mustard, sugarcane, coriander and wheat has started on a strong note as compared to other spices crops such as jeera (cumin seeds) or cereal crops.
The State Agriculture Department data revealed that overall by November 2, a total of 1.44 lakh hectares has been covered under rabi crops, which is about 300 per cent more than 33,860 hectares covered around the same time last year.
Most area is covered under pulses at 46,390 hectares of which gram is about 20,000 hectares. Pulses sowing was merely 6939 hectares around same time last year. Sugarcane sowing has started with 61,997 hectares as on November 2, as against 3,656 hectares reported around same time last year.
Mustard sowing has also gained momentum at the beginning of the season with area under cultivation at 6,835 hectares, as against 4,355 hectares reported last year. Irrigated wheat crop has covered 8,246 hectares so far.
Ample water supply
A farmer from Rajkot district, Ramesh Bhorania, said that rabi sowing has started on a strong note as there is ample water availability in the reservoirs and also due to excess rains damages were reported in many pockets. “So the land was vacant in such places. So we are seeing a strong start to rabi sowing with increased area,” he said.
However, jeera — one of the key rabi spices crops — looks to be going slow in the sowing. Farmers attributed a slowdown in jeera cultivation to lower realisation from the crop as compared to last year and increased moisture in the land, which has increased the risk of the jeera plants getting infected with diseases.
Last year the rabi sowing was delayed by over a month due to muddy soil following an unusually delayed withdrawal of monsoon and followed by the Maha cyclonic storm. Farmers, however, explained that while this year the monsoon withdrawal was delayed, but dry and bright sunny days in the later parts of October months brightened the prospects for rabi cultivation. Gujarat’s normal rabi sowing is estimated at 34.38 lakh hectares.