Haryana eyes better wheat acreage, despite area crunch

Keeping thrust on pulses and oilseeds, Haryana this rabi season is eyeing more area under rabi pulses and oil seeds compared to last year.

Similarly, the state is eyeing 117 lakh metric tons (lmt) production of wheat this rabi season (2011-12) compared to 116.30 lakh metric tons achieved last year.

While the area under pulses targeted this year is 10,000 hectares, area under rabi oilseeds is 6, 00,000 hectares. The area covered under pulses last year was 5000 hectares while for oilseeds it stood at 5,04,000 hectares.

Similarly, for the major rabi food grain viz wheat, the area targeted is 25 lakh hectares compared to 25.15 lakh hectares area covered last year.

Senior agriculture officials in Haryana maintained since scope for increasing area under wheat was limited, now the focus would be on increasing the productivity. As per rabi estimates, the wheat production in Haryana is pegged at 117 lakh metric tons million tonnes compared to 116 lakh metric tons last year.

Scientists in Chaudhary Charan Singh Haryana Agricultural University (CCSHAU) maintained, farmers in Haryana were not getting bumper crop yields despite using good quality seeds and costly chemical fertilizers and pesticides.

The main reason behind this phenomenon was decline in soil fertility. Soil fertility has to be increased if desired results are to be obtained.

Similarly for other rabi food grains, gram and barley the area this year has been kept at 130,000 hectares and 50,000 hectares, higher than covered last year.