Sowings in the ongoing kharif season remain comparatively low at about 17 lakh hectares in Telangana this year, in spite of the fact that the State has recorded good rainfall so far compared to the correspondent period during the two previous years.
The extent covered so far is about 39.5 per cent of the normal area of cultivation for the season with the farmers mostly favouring cotton, maize, redgram and soybean crops.
Put together, the four crops have been cultivated in an extent of 14.55 lakh hectares so far, amounting to 84.9 per cent of total sowings till date. Uneven spread of rainfall has kept the sowings little low with cultivation taken up less than 40 per cent of the total extent for the season so far in Karimnagar, Nalgonda, Ranga Reddy, Warangal and Khammam districts. Except Ranga Reddy, paddy is cultivated to a large extent in the remaining four districts.
“Technically, the average rainfall during the present monsoon is 35 per cent excess than the normal -- 204.2 mm against 151.6 -- so far.
But, 70 mandals have either deficit or scanty rainfall and it is normal in another 133 mandals.
Excess rainfall was recorded only in 240 out of 443 mandals where crops are cultivated,” a senior official of the Agriculture Department stated.
Area of sowings
Sowings were done in an extent of over 22 lakh hectares by the same period last year, when the average rainfall was 31 per cent above normal.
However, in 2014, crops were cultivated only in 9 lakh hectares till the corresponding period owing to scanty rainfall with about 60 per cent deficit.
Low sowings of crops other than paddy have become a cause of concern to the Agriculture Department that had planned to limit cotton cultivation to below 10.64 lakh hectares this year against the normal of about 17 lakh hectares as it is only the cotton crop which ensures good yield even with late sowings.
The crop is already cultivated in 7.23 lakh hectares.
