Wheat sowing down by 4.77% so far: Govt

Area sown to wheat remained lower by 4.77 per cent at 283.46 lakh hectare so far this rabi season due to less coverage in states like Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh, said the data released by the Agriculture Ministry today.
Wheat, the main rabi (winter) crop, was sown in 297.67 lakh hectare in the same period of 2016-17 crop year (July- June). Rabi sowing begins from October, harvesting from March.
According to the ministry's data, wheat acreage was down by 14.20 lakh hectare from the year-ago period. Less area has been reported in states such as Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal, Rajasthan and Maharashtra.

Wheat sowing is almost coming to an end. Normally, the crop is sown in an average area of 301.74 lakh hectare.
Among other rabi crops, area sown to oilseeds remained lower at 76.69 lakh hectare so far this season as against 80.77 lakh hectare in the same period last year.
However, area under pulses has increased to 154.91 lakh hectare from 143.45 lakh hectare, while rice acreage rose to 18.77 lakh hectare from 12.99 lakh hectare in the said period.
In case of coarse cereals, its area coverage remained flat at 52.54 lakh hectare so far this season.
Total area sown to all rabi crops remained slightly lower at 586.37 lakh hectare so far this season as against 587.62 lakh hectare in the year-ago, the data showed.