Wheat acreage down 4.4%, pulses' nearly 3pc this season

Wheat sowing has declined by 4.4 per cent in the winter season so far to 292.52 lakh hectares, while area under pulses is down by 2.74 per cent.
Sowing of wheat and other rabi crops has been affected due to less soil moisture following two consecutive drought years.
"As per preliminary reports received from the states, the total area sown under Rabi crops as on January 28, 2016, stands at 591.51 lakh hectares," an official statement said.
Total area sown under Rabi crops stood at 609.31 lakh hectares in the same period of the previous year.
As per the data, wheat has been sown in 292.52 lakh hectare in this Rabi season against 305.94 lakh hectare in the year-ago period. Area under coverage for rice is down to 22.41 lakh hectares from 24.08 lakh hectares.

Pulses acreage has declined to 139.08 lakh hectare so far from 143.01 lakh hectares.

However, area under coverage for pulses have increased to 60.08 lakh hectares from 56.76 lakh hectares.
In non-foodgrains category, oilseeds acreage dropped to 77.43 lakh hectare so far from 79.51 lakh hectares in the year-ago period.
Production of wheat, a major rabi crop, had declined to 90.86 million tonnes in 2014-15, from 91.50 million tonnes in the previous year due to unseasonal rains.