Oilseeds sowing yet to catch up

MONSOON WATCH

The area under oilseed crops is estimated at 16.07 million hectares in the current kharif, marginally down from last season's 16.64 million hectares. The shortfall is confined largely to Andhra Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Karnataka and Madhya Pradesh.

Some expansion in area is reported from Maharashtra and Rajasthan. While the total acreage under castor has gone up, marginally lower planting is reported under main oilseeds like groundnut, soyabean, sunflower and sesame.

The acreage under pulses, too, has dropped marginally to 9.7 million hectares from last kharif's 10 million hectares. While area has increased in Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh, it has decreased slightly in other pulse growing states.

Most kharif crops are in their vegetative stage. Of course, late planted paddy is in the tillering stage at many places. Some damage to crops has been reported from Maharashtra and Kerala owing to heavy rains, forcing farmers to re-sow their fields. Almost all crops in parts of peninsular India are growing satisfactorily.

Attack of red hairy caterpillar has been noticed on cotton and soyabean in some areas, especially Dhar, Jhabua, Badwani and Khargaon districts of Madhya Pradesh.

Pyrilla pest has also been noticed on sugarcane in many pockets.The agricultural experts have advised farmers to remain vigilant and take up pesticide spraying if the pest population assume menacing proportions. But the spraying needs to be done only during sunny weather.