New Delhi: Wheat sowing for the current rabi season is virtually complete, with a total area of 275.67 lakh hectares (lh) being covered, as per the Agriculture Ministry’s Crop Weather Watch report released here on Friday.
This is lower than the 280.63 lh covered during the corresponding period in 2006-07. This translates into a deficit of below five lh, against the gap of nearly 35 lh that prevailed till end-November. Much of this lag has since then been made up, though it also means that a larger area this time has come under late sown varieties.
Factors impeding sowing
Three major factors have impeded sowing operations this season - the . The first is protracted dry weather, the with the entire central and north-west Indian region receiving hardly any rainfall since August.
• Quarterly results of corporates: Check out
This was combined with field reports of shortages in di-ammonium phosphate (DAP), a critical fertiliser required at sowing time for a good plant stand and development of roots.
The third factor is specific to Uttar Pradesh (UP), the major producer of wheat. With sugar mills there not in a position to pay growers, and delaying crushing operations by a month or so, farmers were not able to vacate their cane area for planting wheat within the optimal time period.
As a result, in many parts - particularly in the fertile, canal-irrigated western districts - wheat sowing stretched beyond mid-January, by which time the plant should ideally have crossed the tillering stage. A lot, then, depends on an extended winter and no rise in the temperatures during March. This would ensure that even the crops planted late can grow to its optimal maturity.
Any abrupt increase in the mercury at the crucial grain-filling phase would induce premature ripening and lower harvested yields. But as of now, the situation on the temperature front seems well under control, though the effect of soil moisture stress is something that cannot be wished away.
If despite the various negative factors farmers have still sown wheat this time, it has been mainly induced by the remunerative minimum support price of Rs 1,000 per quintal announced by the Centre and the overall bullish prospects for the ensuing crop to be harvested from end-March.
Acreage
But the prospects are less rosy with regard to rabi oilseeds, specially rapeseed-mustard. Progressive area reported under this premier rabi oilseed is lower this time, at 59.04 lh, compared with last season’s corresponding 66.67 lh.
Acreage has fallen in Rajasthan (24.03 versus 28.97), Haryana (5.50 versus 6.35), Madhya Pradesh (5.41 versus 6.97), Gujarat (3.41 versus 3.60), Assam (2.62 versus 2.81) and Bihar (1.39 versus 1.65), while rising in UP (7.90 versus 7.70), West Bengal (4.50 versus 4.35) and Chhattisgarh (1.49 versus 1.42).
The total area sown so far under all rabi oilseeds is lower this year at 87.97 lh, over the corresponding cumulative figure of 96.65 lh for 2006-07. Besides rapeseed-mustard, declines have taken place in sunflower (from 11.63 to 10.07), safflower (3.41 to 3.16) and linseed (5.15 to 4.84), while rising for groundnut (7.47 to 8.03) and sesamum (from 1.02 to 1.13).
In gram (chana), too, there has been a fall in coverage from 83.24 lh to 79.95 lh. The overall progressive rabi pulses area has dipped from 138.11 lh to 131.55 lh, with these being from 15.36 to 14 for lentil (masur), 8.08 to 6.75 for peas (matar), 6.21 to 5.64 for kulthi (horsegram) and 5.65 to 5.54 for moong. However, extra area has come under urad (7.56 to 7.89) and lathyrus (4.44 to 5.18).
On the non-wheat cereals front, the respective area under jowar and rice so far this year, at 46.57 lh and 19.84 lh, is lower than the 49.37 lh and 20.06 lh of the corresponding period of 2006-07, while increasing for maize (10.17 to 10.35). Barley area, too, has dipped from 7.75 lh to 7.57 lh.
This is lower than the 280.63 lh covered during the corresponding period in 2006-07. This translates into a deficit of below five lh, against the gap of nearly 35 lh that prevailed till end-November. Much of this lag has since then been made up, though it also means that a larger area this time has come under late sown varieties.
Factors impeding sowing
Three major factors have impeded sowing operations this season - the . The first is protracted dry weather, the with the entire central and north-west Indian region receiving hardly any rainfall since August.
• Quarterly results of corporates: Check out
This was combined with field reports of shortages in di-ammonium phosphate (DAP), a critical fertiliser required at sowing time for a good plant stand and development of roots.
The third factor is specific to Uttar Pradesh (UP), the major producer of wheat. With sugar mills there not in a position to pay growers, and delaying crushing operations by a month or so, farmers were not able to vacate their cane area for planting wheat within the optimal time period.
As a result, in many parts - particularly in the fertile, canal-irrigated western districts - wheat sowing stretched beyond mid-January, by which time the plant should ideally have crossed the tillering stage. A lot, then, depends on an extended winter and no rise in the temperatures during March. This would ensure that even the crops planted late can grow to its optimal maturity.
Any abrupt increase in the mercury at the crucial grain-filling phase would induce premature ripening and lower harvested yields. But as of now, the situation on the temperature front seems well under control, though the effect of soil moisture stress is something that cannot be wished away.
If despite the various negative factors farmers have still sown wheat this time, it has been mainly induced by the remunerative minimum support price of Rs 1,000 per quintal announced by the Centre and the overall bullish prospects for the ensuing crop to be harvested from end-March.
Acreage
But the prospects are less rosy with regard to rabi oilseeds, specially rapeseed-mustard. Progressive area reported under this premier rabi oilseed is lower this time, at 59.04 lh, compared with last season’s corresponding 66.67 lh.
Acreage has fallen in Rajasthan (24.03 versus 28.97), Haryana (5.50 versus 6.35), Madhya Pradesh (5.41 versus 6.97), Gujarat (3.41 versus 3.60), Assam (2.62 versus 2.81) and Bihar (1.39 versus 1.65), while rising in UP (7.90 versus 7.70), West Bengal (4.50 versus 4.35) and Chhattisgarh (1.49 versus 1.42).
The total area sown so far under all rabi oilseeds is lower this year at 87.97 lh, over the corresponding cumulative figure of 96.65 lh for 2006-07. Besides rapeseed-mustard, declines have taken place in sunflower (from 11.63 to 10.07), safflower (3.41 to 3.16) and linseed (5.15 to 4.84), while rising for groundnut (7.47 to 8.03) and sesamum (from 1.02 to 1.13).
In gram (chana), too, there has been a fall in coverage from 83.24 lh to 79.95 lh. The overall progressive rabi pulses area has dipped from 138.11 lh to 131.55 lh, with these being from 15.36 to 14 for lentil (masur), 8.08 to 6.75 for peas (matar), 6.21 to 5.64 for kulthi (horsegram) and 5.65 to 5.54 for moong. However, extra area has come under urad (7.56 to 7.89) and lathyrus (4.44 to 5.18).
On the non-wheat cereals front, the respective area under jowar and rice so far this year, at 46.57 lh and 19.84 lh, is lower than the 49.37 lh and 20.06 lh of the corresponding period of 2006-07, while increasing for maize (10.17 to 10.35). Barley area, too, has dipped from 7.75 lh to 7.57 lh.
No comments:
Post a Comment