ICAR predicts record July-June harvest

India's apex farm research body, Indian Council of Agriculture Research, Wednesday projected a record output of oilseeds and pulses and a bumper wheat crop in the 2004-05 (July-June) season.

Director-General Mangla Rai said good winter rains and suitable temperature had served as a boon for farm output in the current rabi season.

He said primarily a good rabi crop of oilseeds and pulses will drive up the overall 2004-05 agricultural production.

Kharif crops are sown in June-July and harvested in October while rabi crops are sown in September-October and harvested from late-February onwards.

"We are confident this full year's oilseeds output will touch a record high of over 25.1 million tonnes, and that of pulses will cross 15 million tonnes. Wheat output will be over 75 million tonnes. Our confidence is increasing with each passing day," Rai said on the sidelines of a function held to mark IARI's centenary.

Rai said there was no element of doubt that the country was heading for a bumper wheat crop because the temperature was hovering around normal and there was no excessive blowing of winds.

Absence of significant wind movement was ideal for the maturing wheat crop, he said.

The ample sunshine currently seen in most wheat growing areas will add to the lustre in wheat grains.

"We expect far more lustrous wheat grains this year," he said.

Rai said the critical period from the point of view of weather for development of wheat grains was now over and in many areas, particularly in central India, the crop was already being harvested.

Winter rains added to the soil moisture and immensely benefited the rain-fed durum wheat crop in Madhya Pradesh, he added.

In terms of acreage and output, wheat is India's most important rabi or winter crop, with a normal sown area of 26.4 million hectares.

"Normal" area is the average sown area in the last three years.

In oilseeds an all-time high output was expected on the back of an excellent mustard crop, Rai said.

"Absence of diseases and pests like aphid and intermittent rains have added to our oilseeds kitty," he added.

The massive mustard seed arrivals in local mandis across north India, which are reflected in the decline in prices, symbolised the record output, he pointed out.

An area of around 7.0 million hectares under mustard seed lying disease-free was a matter of utmost significance, he added.

In pulses, the deadly helicoverpa armigera pest was nowhere to be seen in the fields and this had helped boost output, which would cross 15 million tonnes in 2004-05, he said.

The likely output of pigeon pea and chick pea was pegged at 4 million tonnes and 8 million tonnes respectively and after adding lentil and pea output, a bumper crop was in the offing.

This could be largely attributed to excellent weather conditions during the rabi season, he said. Around 65 per cent of the country's total pulses output is during the rabi season.