'Crop yields falls by up to 6% this kharif season'

New Delhi: The yields of major crops, including rice, oilseeds, sugarcane and cotton, fell by up to 6 percent during the kharif season compared to the previous season due to delayed monsoon, according to a Agriculture Ministry official.

Kharif (summer sowing) season commences in June with the onset of monsoon and the harvesting is done in September and October.

"The yield rates of major kharif crops like rice, cotton, oilseeds, sugarcane, etc. At an all-India level in the recently completed season compared to the previous one shows that yields have gone down mainly due to delayed and deficient monsoon rains," the Agriculture Ministry official said.

The yield of rice, a major kharif crop, fell by 4 percent to 2,185 kg per hectare in the 2012-13 season from 2,284 kg per hectare in the year-ago period, the official added.

Similarly, the yield rate of oilseeds declined by 5 percent to 1,073 kg per hectare during the current kharif season as compared to 1,124 kg per hectare in the previous season.

The yield of sugarcane fell by 6 percent to 65,753 kg per hectare from 70,317 kg a hectare during the same period.

Coarse cereals yield saw a decline of 5 percent to 1,478 kg per hectare in the 2012-13 kharif season against 1,561 kg per hectare in the last season, whereas, cotton yields fell marginally to 489 kg per hectare from 491 kg per hectares.

However, the yield of pulses showed an upward trend and rose to 552 kg per hectare in the current kharif season as compared to 543 kg per hectare in the previous season.

The official said the crop yields in the recently over kharif season are not final and are based on preliminary assessments.


PTI