Kharif sowing slumps 23 pc amid delayed monsoon; key reservoirs level at 26 pc storage

New Delhi: Sowing of kharif crops including paddy is lagging significantly in the country, with total acreage at 182.72 lakh hectares as of June, down 23 per cent compared to 236.46 lakh hectares a year earlier, amid delayed onset and sluggish progress of the southwest monsoon, according to agriculture ministry data.

Not only rice but also pulses, oilseeds, coarse cereals and cotton have seen lower sowing than the year-ago period.

Sowing of kharif crops normally begins with the onset of southwest monsoon from June.

According to the latest data, paddy acreage -- the main kharif crop -- was down 25.17 per cent at 25.75 lakh hectares as on June 25, against 34.41 lakh hectares last year.

Pulses sowing lagged by 30.47 per cent at 14.92 lakh hectares versus 21.46 lakh hectares, while oilseeds area plunged 53.33 per cent to 16.99 lakh hectares from 36.41 lakh hectares.

Among pulses, tur/arhar sowing stood at 3.56 lakh hectares against 8.45 lakh hectares.

In oilseeds, groundnut area fell to 8.87 lakh hectares from 15.29 lakh hectares, and soybean to 6.92 lakh hectares from 19.97 lakh hectares. Coarse cereals acreage declined to 31.84 lakh hectare from 36.07 lakh hectare.

Cotton sowing dropped 34.61 per cent to 29.66 lakh hectares from 45.36 lakh hectares in the said period.

However, sugarcane area saw a marginal increase to 57.31 lakh hectares from 56.64 lakh hectares, while jute and mesta acreage was also slightly higher at 6.25 lakh hectares compared to 6.13 lakh hectares.