Kharif sowing crosses 967 lakh hectares

According to the latest data, the area under pulses and oilseed has increased during the period under reference.

With the good spell of rain, hectic activities in the fields are carried out as women sowing paddy saplings in a village near Raipur, on August 07, 2006. Photo: Akhilesh Kumar

The total area sown under kharif as on August 28, 2015, has reached to 967.83 lakh hectares compared to 956.93 lakh hectare last year at this time.

According to the latest data, the area under pulses and oilseed has increased during the period under reference.

Rice has been sown/transplanted in 345.89 lakh hectares against 345.48 lakh hectare. On the other hand, pulses sown in 105.52 lakh hectare against 94.18 lakh hectare

Similarly, the area under coarse cereals has increased to 172.52 lakh hectare from 167.23 lakh hectre and that of oilseeds to 174.59 lakh hectare from 172..26 lakh hectre.

Among cash crops, area under cotton has declined to 112.68 lakh hectare from 122.50 lakh tonnes. The area under sugarcane has increased to 48.84 lakh hectare from 47.17 lakh hectare.