Wheat sowing area down by 1.77 pc to 286.26 lakh hectare

Wheat acreage has declined by 1.77 per cent to 268.26 lakh hectares so far in the current rabi season.
Area under coverage for coarse cereals, pulses and oilseeds is also down in the winter sowing season compared to the year-ago period.
"Wheat's sowing area is at 268.26 lakh hectare as compared to last year's 273.12 lakh hectare," an official release said today.
Area under sowing of coarse cereals stood at 48.24 lakh hectare compared to 53.88 lakh hectare in the year-ago period.
Pulses acreage also fell to 119.89 lakh hectare against 132.79 lakh hectare in the corresponding period of last year.

"Similarly sowing area under total oilseeds is at 72.52 lakh hectares as compared to 78.05 lakh hectares last year," the statement said.

As per Rabi crops data released by Agriculture Ministry, the total area coverage under Rabi crops stood at 511.13 lakh hectare against 540.02 lakh hectares in the year-ago period.
Sowing of rabi crops starts from October, while harvesting begins from March. Wheat is a major rabi crop.
Production of foodgrains (comprising rice, wheat, pulses and coarse cereals) in 2013-14 crop year (July-June) stood at 264.77 million tonnes.