Govt says pulses area marginally less so far on late kharif harvest

Wheat sowing almost ends with acreage of 33.17 million hectares in 2023-24

Sowing of rabi crops has almost ended in most parts of India, with wheat acreage standing at around 33.17 million hectares, which is marginally less than last year but more importantly, way over the normal acreage for the crop.

Normal acreage is the average acreage in the last five years.

With the weather turning benign in the last few days and a forecast of rains over the next week to 10 days in several parts of North India, the early germination of late-sown wheat should not be a cause for concern.

For wheat, the government in a statement said that sowing of wheat with late varieties will go up to the first week of January and some states will report the area coverage from the field until the end of January.

The area under chana, the largest pulse grown in the country, though remained a cause for concern with acreage as of January 5, 2024, standing at 10.01 million hectares, which was almost 7 per cent lower than last year.

The government, though, remained hopeful and said that in some states, less area coverage (in pulses) is due to the late harvesting of kharif crops, diversion to other crops, and deficit soil moisture.

It said that the sowing window for chana (gram) is almost over except in Andhra Pradesh and Chhattisgarh where sowing will go up to mid-January as stated by the concerned states.

For oilseeds, which in the rabi season is mostly mustard, the ideal sowing window is already over, with acreage standing at 9.88 million hectares, which is 2.17 per cent more than the area covered during the same period of last year.

“More than normal area coverage has already been achieved in oilseeds, particularly in mustard. Sowing is still going on,” the official statement said.