62% of area covered in Gujarat by rain

With Gujarat recording good rains since last week, 61.62 per cent of the overall sowing in the state has been completed, against 38 per cent on July 21. For cotton and groundnut, two major kharif crops, 95 per cent and 77 per cent of the sowing has been completed, respectively.

For paddy, however, sowing is yet to pick up; as of July 28, only 36 per cent of paddy sowing had been completed. A year ago, paddy sowing had been carried out across 700,900 hectares.

State agriculture department data showed with almost all parts of the state receiving good rainfall since last week, sowing had been carried out across 5.35 million hectares by July 28, against 3.29 million hectares a week earlier. As of July 28 last year, sowing was completed across 7.51 million hectares.

For cotton, sowing had been completed across 2.58 million hectares (95.11 per cent of the total cotton-sowing area). During the corresponding period last year, sowing had been completed on 2.61 million hectares.

As of July 28 this year, groundnut sowing had been completed on 1.12 million hectares (77.81 per cent of the overall sowing area). A year ago, groundnut sowing had been completed on 1.59 million hectares.

For sesame, sowing has been carried out on 81,100 hectares (68 per cent of the total area), against 98,800 hectares a year ago.

S R Chaudhary, director of agriculture, said sowing had picked up in most parts of the state. "With central and north Gujarat receiving good rains last week, sowing of crops has picked up. We are likely to see a significant rise in paddy sowing in the coming week," he said.

Asked whether there was any crop damage in south Gujarat, which had received excess rainfall, Chaudhary said his department hadn't received reports of any damage. "However, we have sought reports on damages from our district offices, and these are likely to come in a few days," he added.

A R Pathak, vice-chancellor of Navsari Agricultural University, said it was likely crops such as paddy and sugarcane wouldn't be affected by the heavy rains. "However, some pulses such as tur and vegetables could suffer some damage," he said.

Data released by the state agriculture department showed as of July 28, sowing of pulses and cereals had been completed across 39 per cent and 37 per cent of the overall sowing areas, respectively. For pulses such tur, moong and muth, sowing had been completed across 199,400 hectares, against 398,800 hectares a year earlier.

For cereals, sowing has been carried out across 568,400 of the 1.54 million hectares. A year earlier, sowing had been completed across 1.23 million hectares.