Good rain spurs sowing of pulses, oilseeds

Sowing of pulses and oilseeds, two crops which play an important part in both food and non-food inflation, has started on a brisk note in this kharif season. Vastly aided by the above-average rainfall so far in the main growing areas. If the weather remains benign in the next few weeks, the normal sowing area could be exceeded. In the kharif season, the normal area under pulses (this definition for any crop is the average of the previous five years) is 11.01 million hectares and 17.9 m ha for oilseeds.

According to the department of agriculture, pulses were sown in 374,000 ha till Thursday. It was not sown anywhere across the country in the corresponding period of 2012. Oilseeds had been sown in 813,000 ha till Thursday, 161 per cent more than in the same period last year. In pulses, sowing has started before time in Karnataka, Gujarat, Tamil Nadu, West Bengal and Odisha. The varieties largely sown in these areas are arhar, urad and moong. Arhar had been sown on 78,400 ha, urad in 52,400 ha and moong in 172,000 ha.

Among oilseeds, sowing of groundnut and soybean has been more in Gujarat, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Odisha and Andhra Pradesh. Groundnut was sown in 555,800 ha till Thursday, 152 per cent more than in the same period last year. Soybean was planted on 132,000 ha, 700 per cent more than last year.

The main reason for this surge in pulses and oilseeds sowing has been the stupendous run of the southwest monsoon so far, more importantly over major growing areas of these crops. The India Meteorological Department says rainfall over Gujarat was 146 per cent more than the normal over June 1-21, while it has been 10-32 per cent more than normal in Karnataka. In Tamil Nadu, the monsoon has been 27 per cent more than normal during this period, and 23 per cent more than normal in Odisha. Overall, across the country, rainfall was 42 per cent more than normal during June 1-21.

Paddy, the foodgrain grown the most during kharif, had been sown in 1.64 m ha, 1.2 per cent more than last year at this time. Sugarcane had been sown in 4.45 m ha, 9.7 per cent less than last year and cotton in 2.81 m ha, 10.2 per cent less than last year.