BRISK SOWING OF OILSEEDS AND PULSES
GRAM SOWING
EXCEEDS NORMAL AREA COVERAGE
Reports of accelerated
sowing of Rabi oilseeds and rabi pulses, particularly rapeseed
& mustard in northern India continue to come in . However,
the temperature during the past few days has been above normal
in major Rabi growing regions. The precipitation in the north
and north western Indian plains was also weak during the last
month. This phenomenon would require to be watched for its further
prolongation, as it may not favour Rabi crop conditions.
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 78 lakh hectares which is more than 20 lakh hectares
as compared to last year’s coverage in the corresponding period.
Area reported this year so far under Rapeseed & Mustard is
46 lakh hectares against 45 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 &
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 98 lakh hectares
which is ahead by about 16 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 61 lakh hectares which is ahead by about 15 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 125 lakh hectares against 101
lakh hectares covered last year in the corresponding period.
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
60 lakh hectares, which is about 2 lakh hectares less than the
last year’s coverage in the corresponding period.
As on the fifth
of this month, total water storage in the 71 important reservoirs
monitored by the Central Water Commission was about 53% of the
full reservoir level of 131.28 billion cubic meters. This is 122%
of the last year’s level and 78% of last 10 years’ average. The
Bhima reservoir in Maharashtra has no utilizable water.
