Cotton, groundnut acreage sees sharp rise in Andhra

This July, Andhra Pradesh is receiving the highest rainfall of the decade. In view of the rain, the normal sowing area (as of July 21) has touched 4.7 million hectares, up 22.5 per cent, as against 3.82 million hectares in the corresponding period last year.

It is estimated that the total sowing area will touch 8.22 million hectares as the kharif season progresses. This is about 400,000 hectares (one million acre) more than the normal sowing area of 7.8 million hectares, according to agriculture minister N Raghuveera Reddy.

The total geographic area of the state is 27.5 million hectares, about 40 per cent is normally under net area sown (including fish culture).

Among the corps, cotton alone will account for an increase of 600,000 acres this year including in Kurnool, Prakasam and Anantapur districts. This was followed by groundnut which was sown in 992,000 acres against last years 357,000 acres.There is a small rise in paddy cultivation — 380,985 hectares on July 21 as against 346,579 hectares last year. However, there is a marginal decline in maize and soybean. Sugar, which was bad last year, will increase this season, he said.

CROP PATTERN AREA COVERED SO FAR
(In Per cent)	Crops
Less than 25	Paddy,sunflower, chilies
Up to 50	Horsegram, onion
Up to 75	Jowar, ragi, groundnut, castor, mestha
Up to 100	Bajra, redgram, green gram, blackgram, soybean, sugarcane
More than 100	Seasmum, cotton
Figures as on July 21

“We are hopeful that the food production from the state will go past 20.9 million tonnes for the full year, including 10.96 million tonnes during kharif and 10.23 million tonnes during rabi,’’ Reddy said attributing the rise in cultivation area to good monsoon and also ‘good’ MSP.

Cultivable land will increase during this kharif bringing new ayacuts under irrigation.

For almost a decade, the state did not witness heavy rainfall in July, considered critical for the success of the kharif crop. But this year, the rains have been copious. Up to July, AP received 283.9 mm rainfall, 23.75 per cent excess as against the normal of 229.4 mm. In 2009, when the state has seen a drought and then floods, the rainfall was 140.6 mm, a deficit of 39 per cent. For the corresponding period of 2008, the rainfall deficit was 34 per cent at it rained only 151.4 mm.

Due to heavy rains in the catchment of Godavari basin, major reservoirs are holding 473.74 thousand million cubic (tmc) feet now (450.51 tmc ft last year). The state government is also spreading awareness on the cultivation of Sri Vari (System of rice intensification) during this season. The transplantation of paddy, which in districts like Chittoor, Kadapa and Nellore go on up to mid-October, is at a brisk pace.