Winter boosts mustard, wheat sowing

With the onset of winter in most parts of northern India, wheat sowing has picked up pace and covered most of the lost ground.

Data from the agriculture ministry show sowing of wheat had been completed in 12 million hectares of land till Friday (November 25), even as the figure stood at 7.7 million hectares till a week back. In a week’s time, almost 4.4 million hectares have been covered under wheat. The gains have largely been made in Haryana, Punjab and Madhya Pradesh.

Among other crops sown during the rabi season, while the area under mustard has increased over the same period last year, pulses continued their impressive run, with sowing rising by 500,000 hectares in comparison to last year.

In Uttar Pradesh, the country’s largest wheat producing state, sowing has been rather sluggish till now, largely because of delayed harvesting of the standing paddy (de-husked rice) crop.

In Haryana, while 1.95 million hectares had been brought under wheat till last Friday, the acreage was almost 1.38 million hectares a week earlier.

“The area covered under wheat in Haryana this year is 232,000 hectares more than last year,” a senior official in the agriculture ministry said.

In Punjab too, there has been steady progress in wheat sowing and the crop had been sown in almost 2.76 million hectares till Friday last, just 72,000 hectares less than last year.

In Madhya Pradesh, the area under wheat was 475,000 hectares more than last year till last Friday.

“Sowing will further gain momentum in the coming days, as winter becomes more aggressive over the northern plains” a senior agriculture ministry official said. Normally, wheat is sown in 22.74 million hectares every year.

Meanwhile, data showed that till Friday, mustard had been sown in 5.65 million hectares, 103,000 hectares more than last year. Mustard is sown in 6.35 million hectares of land every year.

In Rajasthan, which contributes more than 80 per cent to the country’s annual mustard production, the acreage was just 109,000 hectares less than last year at 2.51 million hectares till Friday. However, a big jump has been seen in West Bengal, where mustard acreage has risen by over 212,000 between last year and this year till Friday.