Regulated farming being promoted by the State government from the current Vaanakalam crop season appears to be on course for most of the suggested crops except for pulses and groundnut.
Against the planned area of cultivation, over 1.25 crore acres, this season the farming community has already completed sowing/transplantation operations in over 62% of the area or nearly 77.7 lakh acres as on Tuesday. Although the government has advised the farming community against cultivation of maize, it has been sown in over 1.43 lakh acres so far.
“Maize is regularly cultivated in about 12 lakh acres during the Vaanakalam (kharif) season and by now it would have been sown in about 6.34 lakh acres. However, it has been cultivated in 1.43 lakh acres so far and inquiries done by our Agriculture Extension Officers (AEOs) have indicated that most of the farmers who have sown the crop so far did it for green cob/sweet corn sale and seed production,” a senior agriculture official said.
However, the cultivation of pulses — red gram, green gram and black gram — has been relatively lower compared to the planned pattern. The three pulses have been planned to be cultivated in over 13.27 lakh acres this season and they have been sown in over 9.1 lakh acres so far. By now, the three pulses were sown in 6.42 lakh acres last year.
Cultivation of soyabean has also been lesser than last year as it was sown in nearly 3.95 lakh acres by now and this year it has been cultivated in about 3.87 lakh acres against a planned area of over 4.68 lakh acres. Normal area covered by the crop for the season is about 4.89 lakh acres.
The agriculture authorities have stated that cultivation of cotton has been on course of the suggested extent of little over 60 lakh acres as it has already sown in over 51.76 lakh acres so far. Last year, the crop was sown in 33.79 lakh acres by now.
Similarly, paddy has been transplanted in over 9.41 lakh acres so far and nurseries have already been raised for another 22.09 lakh acres. The crop is planned in nearly 41.77 lakh acres this season.
