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.
