Monsoon picks up, sowing of pulses gets boost
With monsoon picking up in the first week of July and compensating for the lower rainfall in June, the sowing of kharif, especially pulses, has gained momentum and boosted the hopes for a higher production than last year.
Pulses have been sown on 45.94 lakh hectares in June-July against 36.44 lakh hectares in the corresponding period last year, according to government data released on Friday.
The area under pulses has gone up on account of good rainfall in Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Haryana, Punjab and Maharashtra, where they are mostly grown.
Similarly, the area under rice (paddy) has gone up from 77.31 lakh hectares during 2015-16 to 81.93 lakh hectares as Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Tamil Nadu, Punjab and Haryana have received good rainfall.
“It is a good sign for all crops. The area under pulses has increased and if the weather remains conducive, we can expect a good production this year,” said K.K. Singh, chief of Agricultural Meteorology, India Meteorological Department (IMD).
“Monsoon has covered most parts of the country, and in the coming days, the planting of kharif crops such as rice, soybeans, pulses and cotton will be further boosted,” he said.
In all, the kharif crops have been planted on 406.27 lakh hectares so far as against 431.82 lakh hectares in the corresponding period last year, according to the government data.
The good monsoon, however, has not yet had a positive impact on the water level in major reservoirs, which has gone down because of the poor rainfall in the preceding years.
The reservoirs are at 18 per cent of their storage in the week ending July 8, according to the data.
“This is 55 per cent of the storage of the corresponding period last year and 74 per cent of the storage average of the last 10 years,” a statement by the Ministry of Water Resources said.
The IMD is expecting the monsoon to gain momentum during July-August. Good rains will increase the water level in the reservoirs, which in turn will help boost the supply of hydropower and help in irrigation of crops even after the monsoon.
Area under rice goes up
The area under rice (paddy) has gone up from 77.31 lakh hectares during 2015-16 to 81.93 lakh hectares as Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Tamil Nadu, Punjab and Haryana have received good rainfall.
“It is a good sign for all crops. The area under pulses has increased and if the weather remains conducive, we can expect a good production this year,” said K.K. Singh, chief of Agricultural Meteorology, India Meteorological Department (IMD).
“Monsoon has covered most parts of the country, and in the coming days, the planting of kharif crops such as rice, soybeans, pulses and cotton will be further boosted,” he said. In all, the kharif crops have been planted on 406.27 lakh hectares so far as against 431.82 lakh hectares in the corresponding period last year, according to the government data released on Friday.
The good monsoon, however, has not yet had a positive impact on the water level in major reservoirs, which has gone down because of the poor rainfall in the preceding years. The reservoirs are at 18 per cent of their storage in the week ending July 8, according to the data.
“This is 55 per cent of the storage of the corresponding period last year,” a statement by the Ministry of Water Resources said.
The IMD is expecting the monsoon to gain momentum during July-August.
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