New Delhi, July 03: Sowing of both major oilseeds and kharif rice is behind schedule even though coverage of area under various crops has accelerated with the monsoon covering large parts of the country. According to the latest official data released on Wednesday, area covered so far under kharif rice so far is 30.2 lakh hectares against 35.3 lakh hectares in the corresponding period last year. Normal area under kharif rice is 406 lakh hectares.
In the most important kharif oilseed -- groundnut -- the acreage is 6.52 lakh hectares against 6.91 lakh hectares. Sowing of soyabean has barely started at 0.61 lakh hectares against 10.41 lakh hectares.
During the meeting of the crop weather watch group, it was pointed out that monsoon had arrived on time last year only to lose momentum by June end while in the current season it was delayed by a week but gathered pace at a later stage leading to delay in sowing of kharif crops.
Sowing progression is likely to progress in the coming days with the spread of monsoon. Bureau Report