 "Representative image")
Rabi crops were sown on 32.76 million hectares till Friday, which was 4.6 per cent more than the same period last year, but the pace of planting slackened further and from November 18 to 25, the acreage rose by just 35.5 per cent.
From November 4 to 11, the area covered under rabi crops grew 80 per cent, which fell to 65 per cent in the subsequent week, data by the department of agriculture showed.
November is considered the most ideal month for sowing of most rabi crops.
In wheat, which is the main crop during the rabi season, the acreage as on November 25 stood at 12.71 million hectares, which is 8.38 per cent more than the same period last year.
The pace of sowing in wheat has also shown a steady decline since November 8, when the demonetisation was announced, though most experts said the effect of cash crunch won’t be felt in sowing of cereals as very little quantity of new seeds is used and the slowdown in sowing pace is normal. The brunt of cash crunch could be borne by vegetable seeding.
Wheat acreage as on November 25 was almost 15 per cent less than normal acreage, which is average area of last five years starting from 2011-12.
A report quoting an unnamed senior official from Maharashtra said rabi sowing could drop by as much as 20 per cent in the state as the sale of seeds and fertilisers was getting affected due to note ban.
Maharashtra chief secretary issued instructions to state-run seed distribution centres to accept scrapped currency notes of Rs 500.
Data showed that water level in 91 major reservoirs in the country had plunged to 67 per cent of their total capacity from 68 per cent last week.
According to water resources ministry, 105.209 billion cubic metres of water was available in these reservoirs for the week ended November 24.
The stock was 125 per cent of the storage reported during same period last year, while it is 97 per cent of the decadal average, the ministry said.
Last week, the stock available in these reservoirs was 107.449 BCM. The total capacity of the reservoirs is 157.799 BCM.
The sowing data meanwhile, showed that till November 25, 2016 among other crops, pulses have been sown in around 9.50 million hectares, which was almost 8 per cent more than last year.
Coarse cereals have been planted in around 3.43 million hectares, which was 19 per cent less than last year and almost 20 per cent less than the normal sowing area.
Oilseeds have been planted in around 6.42 million hectares of land till November 25, which is 14 per cent more than last year and 0.62 per cent more than the normal area.
