Sowing for kharif in full swing due to more than normal rains in the first week of June.
Sowing operations for the present kharif are in full swing in Karnataka following the more than normal monsoon in almost all the taluks during the first week of June. As on June 8, sowing has been completed 370,000 hec-tares across the state, about 4.9 per cent of the target for the kharif season.
The agriculture department has set a target to cover 7.46 million hectares under kharif 2011, an increase of 2.9 per cent over the last year. Of this, 5.15 million hectares will be covered under foodgrains and 1.37 million hectares for oilseeds, 398,000 hectares under sugarcane and 412,000 hectares for cotton and 123,000 hectares under tobacco. The state is aiming at a production of 9.22 million tonnes of foodgrains during the kharif season.
Cotton sowing has been completed on about 67,000 hectares. The department has supplied 1.57 million packets of cotton seeds to farmers of the total requirement of 1.74 million packets.
For the full year 2011-12, the department has set a target of covering 11.54 million hectares under various food crops and commercial crops, an increase of 7.3 per cent over the previous year.
As regards to production of foodgrains during 2011-12 (kharif and rabi), the state is looking at achieving a production of 14 million tonnes, a growth of 9.3 per cent over 12.8 million tonnes produced last year.
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The state has set a target of producing 1.49 million tonnes of oilseeds, an increase of 27.3 per cent over the previous year. The target for cotton is 1.06 million bales as against 929,000 bales produced in 2010-11, an increase of 14.5 per cent over the previous year. The state is looking to produce 37.5 million tonnes of sugarcane, an increase of 3 per cent over last year. The production of tobacco is estimated to be 99,000 tonnes as against 92,000 tonnes last year.
Going by the present indications, the state agriculture department expects bumper production of foodgrains and commercial crops during the year. “The monsoon rains have been satisfactory so far in the state. Of the 176 taluks, 140 taluks have received excess rains, 26 taluks have experienced normal rains during the first eight days of June. Only nine taluks have received deficit rains, while one taluk has not received rains so far in Kolar district,” an official in the agriculture department said.
Bagalkot district has received the highest rainfall till now. It has experienced 90 per cent above the normal rains.
The availability of seeds and fertiliser is sufficient in the state to meet the demands for the kharif season. As against the requirement of 815,000 quintals of seeds for the season, the state has a stock of 892,000 quintals. As on June 7, 2011 the state has distributed 37,225 quintals of seeds to 129,000 farmers.
The state requires about 2.33 million tonnes of fertiliser for the whole year. So far, 506,000 tonnes have been supplied, while another 378,000 tonnes of stocks are available, the officials said.