Karnataka kharif coverage is 16.12% over normal

The smile is back yet again on the faces of the farmers in Karnataka. Following another year of normal rains, the sowing operations in the state have been satisfactory during the early days of the Kharif season.

Crop coverage till July 16, was 40.97 lakh hectares, which is 16.12 per cent more than the normal. However, it was lesser than the last year's coverage of 44.21 lakh hectares. The state's kharif target is 73.95 lakh hectares.

According to the Karnataka agriculture directorate, due to the timely rainfall, sowing was above normal in 15 districts, normal in 10 districts, below normal or negligible in two districts.

The coverage of cereals is 12.28 per cent over normal, at 16.82 lakh hectares.

Last year's coverage was higher at 17.05 lakh hectares. While the coverage of maize was lesser than normal and ragi's coverage is 0.08 lakh hectares more than that seen last year. The coverage of bajra alone saw a rise in coverage, having risen 9.3 per cent to 3.09 lakh hectares.

Pulses' coverage is up 52.38 per cent at 9.57 lakh hectares as against the normal coverage of 6.28 lakh hectares. Last year's coverage was 10.50 lakh hectares. Coverage of tur, black gram and green gram are above normal. The area under oilseeds is also up 1 per cent, at 9.16 lakh hectares as against the normal 9.07 lakh hectares.

Last year it was 10.67 lakh hectares. The total coverage of oil seeds during the kharif is less than last year's coverage by 1.51 lakh hectares.

Coverage of cash crops is up 9.49 per cent at 5.42 lakh hectares over normal while last year it stood at 5.99 lakh hectares. The area covered by sugarcane and tobacco are also the normal, but cotton's coverage was lesser than that seen last year.

The coverage of cotton is 1.67 lakh hectares while the normal coverage is 3.25 lakh hectares. The area covered by sugarcane is 2.93 lakh hectares and tobacco 0.82 lakh hectares.