With a near normal monsoon predicted during the kharif, all is set for farming operations to begin in the district. The normal cultivable area covers 5.50 lakh hectares and by the end of June, cultivation began in 23,508 hectares.
The farm lands have been tilled and made ready for the seedling stage. Sowing of Cotton has begun in parts of Palnadu where it is popularly called as summer cotton.
Joint Director of Agriculture, V. Sridhar said that cotton acreage could go up in the coming year as the prospects of an increase in prices are bright. Cotton has been sown in 7, 344 hectares in the district.
Paddy is expected to be sown in 2, 39, 916 hectares in the district. Redgram leads the pack in the food grain category with an expected acreage of 20,879 hectares. Chilli is expected to be sown in 63,499 hectares while cotton is expected to be sown in 1.67 lakh hectares. Though the cost of cultivation of commercial crops has been on the rise, farmers still prefer for the remunerative prices. Cotton, chilli and turmeric continue to be in demand. The normal rainfall in the season is expected to touch 528.8 m.m. and in June the rainfall recorded was 43 p.c more than the normal rainfall, raising hopes of a good kharif.
Various agencies of the government have been involved in the distribution of seeds. Since the district is the home district of Agricultural Minister Kanna Lakshminarayana, the officials are on their toes to ensure that scarcity of seeds does not arise.
A wet spell might see a flurry of activity and once the water is released from Nagarjuna Sagar canal, farm operations are expected to pick up. Water is slated to be released from Nagarjuna Sagar on July 15.
