Guj sees Kharif crops acreage of 70.28 lakh hectares

Though bit delayed, arrival of rains has helped Gujarat bring around 70.28 lakh hectares land under various Kharif crops as on July end. However, Kharif acreage in Gujarat is unlikely to see any substantial rise in 2009-10 as heavy rains some parts of the state have affected the progress of sowing.

The data available with the state agriculture department show that around 70.28 lakh hectares have already been covered under Kharif crop sowing as on date. The total area under Kharif crop was 86.47 lakh hectares in 2008-09.

Cotton crop seems to have gained the most this year. Around 23.65 lakh hectares have already been brought under cotton cultivation as compared to 21.61 lakh hectares during the same period in 2008-09. Agriculture experts believe that the figure of cotton acreage is likely to cross 25 lakh hectares this year. Area under cotton was at 24 lakh hectares in 2008-09.

In case of other Kharif crops, paddy acreage is 3.91 lakh hectares as against 3.79 lakh hectares during the same period in 2008-09. Area under Bajra and tur sowing is estimated to be 4.19 lakh hectares and 2.50 lakh hectares as against 3.43 lakh hectares and 2.42 lakh hectares last Kharif season.

However, groundnut acreage has taken a beating this year due to excessive rains in major groundnut sowing areas of Gujarat. So far, 16.30 lakh hectares have seen groundnut sowing in the state as on July end, which is far below the level of 17.55 lakh hectares during the Kharif season of 2008-09.

There will not be any substantial increase in groundnut acreage as its too late to go for groundnut sowing now. Heavy rains in Junagadh, Probandar and Jamnagar eroded groundnut sowing in 1 lakh hectares. Overall, groundnut acreage this year is likely to decline by around 2 lakh hectares.