Bountiful rainfall since the onset of the southwest monsoon in the district has helped the farmers to surpass the sowing targets fixed for the kharif season this year. Farmers have completed sowing in 5.84 lakh hectares as against the target of 5.70 lakh hectares fixed for this kharif season. This figure is likely to increase with farmers continuing sowing operations even on Thursday.
The district has received 412.7 mm of average rainfall as against the normal 311.3 mm since June 1 till August 10.
Joint Director (Agriculture Department) Mohammad Jilani Mokashi, in a submission made in the quarterly KDP review meeting chaired by Medical Education Minister Sharanprakash Patil, who is also the district in-charge Minister, here on Thursday, said that farmers have surpassed the sowing targets fixed for green gram, red gram, paddy, sesamum and soya.
Mr. Mokashi said that as against the targeted area of 3.63 lakh hectares fixed for red gram, farmers have completed sowing in 3.96 lakh hectares. Similarly, as against the target of 35,100 hectares fixed for green gram, farmers have completed sowing in 52,552 hectares. Sesamum has been sown in 9,314 hectares as against the target of 5,000 hectares and soya has been cultivated in 19,348 hectares as against the target of 15,000 hectares, Mr. Mokashi said, adding that paddy has been sown 3,314 hectares as against the target of 2,200 hectares.
Mr. Mokashi said that the overall condition of the crops sown was good. However, he said that pest menace was reported on green and black gram crops in a few areas and water logging was reported in 5,900 hectares of low lying areas.
A joint survey has been initiated to assess the loss suffered by farmers owing to water logging, he said. He said that in the pest infested areas, farmers have been asked to spray pesticides.
Mr. Patil said steps should be taken to ensure that fake or substandard pesticides are not sold to farmers.
Sowing was more than 100 per cent in Jewargi (118 per cent), Sedam (104 per cent), 100 per cent in Chincholi and Chitapur, 99 per cent in Afzalpur, 96 per cent in Aland and 95 per cent in Kalaburagi taluks.
While 92 per cent of the targeted area for cereals has been sown, the sowing percentage of pulses was 112 per cent and 94 per cent for oilseeds.
