28th November, 2003
Ministry of Agriculture  


BRISK SOWING OF RABI OILSEEDS AND PULSES


The normal monsoon this year, its delayed withdrawal and subsequent moderate temperature in the north provide congenial conditions for the forthcoming rabi crops. This is reflected in the reports of accelerated sowing of rabi oilseeds and rabi pulses, particularly rapeseed and mustard in northern India.

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 63 lakh hectares which is more than 16 lakh hectares as compared to last year’s coverage in the corresponding period. Area reported this year so far under Rapeseed & Mustard is 44 lakh hectares against 29 lakh hectares covered last year in the corresponding period. Accelerated sowing has taken place in Rajasthan, Haryana and Himachal 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 51 lakh hectares which is ahead by about 14 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 35 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, 8 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 59 lakh hectares against 54 lakh hectares covered last year in the corresponding period. In Punjab, sowing has already taken place in 68% 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.

Area reported so far under Rabi coarse cereals is about 55 lakh hectares which is about 1 lakh hectares more than last year’s coverage in the corresponding period. Jowar is the major Rabi coarse cereal with a normal area of about 53 lakh hectares.

As on the twenty first of this month, total water storage in the 71 important reservoirs monitored by the Central Water Commission was about 57% of the full reservoir level of 131.28 billion cubic meters. This is 122% of the last year’s level and 80% 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.