ACCELERATED SOWING OF OILSEEDS AND
PULSES
Reports of accelerated
sowing of rabi oilseeds and rabi pulses, particularly rapeseed
& mustard in northern India continue to come in .
The normal area under
Rabi oilseeds is 79 lakh hectares. Major Rabi oilseeds are Rapeseed
& Mustard, Rabi Groundnut, Rabi Sunflower, Linseed and Safflower
with a normal area of about 52, 9, 8, 6 and 4 lakh hectares respectively.
Reported area sown under Rabi oilseeds so far is about 71 lakh
hectares which is more than 19 lakh hectares as compared to last
year’s coverage in the corresponding period. Area reported this
year so far under Rapeseed & Mustard is 49 lakh hectares against
33 lakh hectares covered last year in the corresponding period.
Accelerated sowing has taken place in Rajasthan, Haryana, Uttar
Pradesh, Karnataka and Madhya Pradesh. Major Rapeseed & Mustard
growing States are Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Haryana
and Gujarat with a normal area of 19, 9, 5, 5 and 3 lakh hectares
respectively. Rapeseed and mustard is the most prominent Rabi
oilseed with a normal area of 52 lakh hectares. This is about
63% of the total Rabi oilseed area.
As regards Rabi pulses,
the area reported to be sown so far is about 87 lakh hectares
which is ahead by about 19 lakh hectares as compared to the corresponding
period last year. The normal area under Rabi pulses is about 107
lakh hectares. Gram sowing has also accelerated and the area covered
so far is 57 lakh hectares which is ahead by about 17 lakh hectares
as compared to the corresponding period last year. Gram is the
main crop under Rabi pulses with a normal area of 58 lakh hectares
which is about 57% of the total Rabi pulses area. The major Bengal
gram producing States are Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Uttar
Pradesh with a normal area of 22, 9 and 8 lakh hectares respectively.
Wheat is a major
rabi cereal with a normal area of about 264 lakh hectares which
is about 55% of the area under Rabi foodgrains. Wheat sowing gains
momentum with the average temperature descending to 25oC.
Major wheat growing States in the country are Uttar Pradesh ,
Madhya Pradesh, Punjab , Rajasthan , Haryana and Bihar with normal
area of 91, 38,34,24,23 and 21 lakh hectares respectively. The
area coverage reported so far is 101 lakh hectares against 85
lakh hectares covered last year in the corresponding period. In
Punjab, sowing has already taken place in 79% of the normal area
under wheat.
Normal area under
Rabi rice is about 42 lakh hectares. West Bengal and Andhra Pradesh
account for two thirds of the area and it is mostly irrigated.
Sowing of rabi rice has commenced in the Southern Peninsula.
Total normal area
under Rabi coarse cereals is 66 lakh hectares. Major Rabi Coarse
Cereal is Rabi Jowar with a normal area of about 53 lakh hectares.
Maize has reported 5 lakh hectares, exceeding the normal sowing
area. Area reported so far under Rabi Coarse Cereals is about
59 lakh hectares, which is about 1 lakh hectares less than the
last year’s coverage in the corresponding period.
As on the twenty
eighth of this month, total water storage in the 71 important
reservoirs monitored by the Central Water Commission was about
55% of the full reservoir level of 131.28 billion cubic meters.
This is 122% of the last year’s level and 79% of last 10 years’
average.
No gregarious locust
activity has been noticed during the surveys conducted by the
Locust Warning Organization in various localities of the Scheduled
Desert Area of Gujarat and Rajasthan . Intensive surveys are being
conducted to detect any Locust activity in the Scheduled Desert
Area.
There is no report
of shortage of any commonly used chemical pesticides or bio-pesticides
in the country. The incidence of pest & diseases remains below
the Economic Threshold Level generally for most of the crops.
Incidence of wooly aphids on sugarcane from traces to severe was
reported from parts of Maharashtra and Karnataka. Action to contain
the problem has been taken.
