Wheat sowing up 5.36% in first two months of rabi season, shows data

Area sown to wheat has increased by 5.36 per cent annually to 211.62 lakh hectares in the first two months of the ongoing rabi (winter) season, with higher coverage being reported in Rajasthan, Bihar and Uttar Pradesh, according to the agricultural ministry data released on Friday.

Sowing of wheat, the main rabi crop, begins in October and harvesting in March-April. Besides wheat, rice and pulses, such as gram, urad as well as oilseeds such as groundnut and mustard are also grown in this season.

According to the ministry's latest data, wheat has been sown in 211.62 lakh hectares so far in the current rabi season as against 200.85 lakh hectares in the year-ago period.

Higher area has been sown in Rajasthan, Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Gujarat and Punjab.

Area sown to rice has increased marginally to 10.62 lakh hectares as on December 2 of the ongoing rabi season as against 9.53 lakh hectares in the same period last year.

Pulses acreage has also increased marginally to 112.67 lakh hectares as on December 2 of the current rabi season as against 108.57 lakh hectares in the year-ago period.

Gram is the main pulse grown in the rabi season, and the acreage of which has risen marginally to 79.82 lakh hectares when compared with 75.80 lakh hectares in the year-ago period.

In case of coarse cereals, acreage has increased to 32.63 lakh hectares as against 29.02 lakh hectares in the year-ago period.

Similarly, area sown to oilseeds has increased to 83.07 lakh hectares as against 75.55 lakh hectares in the year-ago period. Rapeseed-mustard is the main oilseed grown during the rabi season, acreage of which has increased to 76.69 lakh hectares from 69.32 lakh hectares during the comparable period, the data showed.

Total area sown to all rabi crops remained higher at 450.61 lakh hectares as on December 2 of the ongoing rabi season as against 423.52 lakh hectares in the year-ago period.