Sowing for different crops cultivated during kharif is in full swing, but in the case of paddy, jowar, and ragi it is tardy.
Crops have been sown in 13.54 lakh hectares, which is only 33 per cent of the normal sowing area of 40.96 lakh hectares, till July 13, according to the Commissionerate of Agriculture.
However, foodgrains, which include coarse grains and pulses, normally sown in 20.83 lakh hectares, have been sown only in 4.26 lakh hectares, which is only 20 per cent of the normal sowing area.
Sowing of rain-fed crops such as bajra, jowar, maize, ragi, red gram, green gram, black gram, sesamum, sunflower, castor, and chilli is in progress in all the 13 districts.
While paddy is in the nursery stage, the crops sown early such as green gram, black gram, groundnut, sesamum, and cotton are in the vegetative stage.
According to the Commissionerate, the sowing of paddy, jowar, ragi, horse gram, castor, sunflower, soya bean, chilli, onion, and turmeric is slow with less than 25 per cent of the normal area being covered.
While green gram, black gram, and sesamum have been sown in 100 per cent of the normal area, red gram, groundnut, and sugarcane have been sown in 50-75 per cent of the normal area. Bajra, maize, cotton, and mesta have been sown in 25-50 per cent of the area normally covered.
While sowing is nearing completion in Nellore, it is between 50 and 75 per cent of normal the area in Anantapur and Chittoor district, between 25 and 50 per cent in Srikakulam and Kurnool districts, and below 25 per cent in Vizianagaram, Visakhapatnam, East Godavari, West Godavari, Krishna, Guntur, Prakasam, and Kadapa districts.
Rainfall has been normal or excess this season in all districts, except Nellore. Excess rainfall has been recorded in Vizianagaram, Visakhapatnam, East and West Godavari, Krishna, and Guntur districts. Normal rainfall has been recorded in Srikakulam, Prakasam, Chittoor, Kadapa, Anantapur, and Kurnool districts.
Paddy, which is normally sown in 16.03 lakh hectares, has been sown only in 2.13 lakh hectares, which is 13 per cent of the normal area.
Groundnut, which is normally sown in 9.30 lakh hectares, has been sown in 5.88 lakh hectares, which is 63 per cent of the normal sowing area.
Similarly, cotton, which is normally sown in 6.41 lakh acres, has been sown only in 2.03 lakh areas, which is 32 per cent of the normal area.
