Rabi sowing gradually ending

The speedy pace of sowing in major rabi crops over recent weeks seems to have tapered a bit during this week, signalling a gradual end to the planting season. According to the Union agriculture ministry, wheat, the foodgrain most widely planted during this season, has been sown on 25.3 million hectares, almost 1.54 per cent less than last year.

The drop has been primarily because of lower sowing in Gujarat, Maharashtra, Punjab and Haryana. The last two states account for almost 80 per cent of the country’s wheat output.

“The best time to sow wheat is from November middle to mid-December. With December nearing its end, the pace has slackened,” said Ramesh Chand, director of the National Centre for Agricultural Economics and Policy Research. He said wheat sowing might finally be about the same as last year.

SOWING SCORESHEET  (in million hectares)
Crop	2011-12	2012-13	% change
Wheat	25.71	25.31	-1.54
Rabi rice	2.78	1.71	-38.48
Coarse cereals	5.37	5.48	1.97
Pulses	12.93	12.86	-0.87
Oilseeds	7.58	7.95	4.97
Total rabi crops	51.88	51.75	-0.26
Source: Department of Agriculture

Oilseed sowing would be more; these had been planted on 7.95 million hectares till Thursday, almost 4.9 per cent more than last year at this time.

The biggest rise has been in mustard seed, sown on 6.44 million hectares, almost 2.8 per cent more than last year. “The late resurgence in the southwest monsoon might have encouraged mustard farmers to compensate for the loss suffered during the kharif season,” said Chand.

The sowing of rabi rice has also been low because of deficient rain in the southern parts and low reservoir levels there. Also slightly down is the sowing of pulses.