Rabi acreage under pulses has increased, as farmers in Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra have planted more area under gram or chana. The acreage under chana is up 5 per cent at 91.68 lakh hectares (lh) against 86.99 lh in corresponding period last year.

Coverage of Pulses

The rise in chana prices, coupled with a hike in minimum support price (MSP), has helped expand the acreage under the crop by about 4.7 lh. The Centre has hiked the MSP by 14 per cent to Rs 3,200 a quintal for chana and urad as part of its strategy to encourage farmers grow more of pulses to reduce dependence on imports. Even States such as Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh and Chhattisgarh have seen an increase in the area under chana, while Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh have seen a drop.

However, urad acreage has dropped by about a fifth to 6.6 lh (8.3 lh). The decline in urad acreage is mainly on account of lower planting in Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh. The acreage under moong has seen a marginal increase at 4.57 lh on higher planting in Odisha.

Oilseeds

The acreage under oilseeds is higher by 2.54 lh at 84.16 lh, mainly led by higher planting of rapeseed/mustard and groundnut. Rapeseed acreage touched almost 67 lh on higher planting in Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh. The crop condition is reported normal, despite the prevailing cold wave in the northern States.

The cold wave seems to be aiding sowing of wheat that has been planted on 291.27 lh, marginally down from corresponding last year’s 292.90 lh. In Madhya Pradesh, the wheat acreage has touched 50 lh, while in Uttar Pradesh it is inching closer to 100 lh. In Punjab and Haryana, the acreage has remained constant at 35 lh and 25 lh, respectively.

Coarse cereals, such as sorghum and maize, have seen a rise in acreage at 38.56 lh and 13.03 lh, respectively. Coarse cereals have seen higher acreage in Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka and Rajasthan, while Maharashtra and Tamil Nadu have seen a drop in area.

Vishwanath.kulkarni@thehindu.co.in

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