Wheat sowing up by 6 pc so far at 315.32 lakh hectares

Area under wheat cultivation has risen by 6 per cent to a record 315.32 lakh hectares so far in the ongoing rabi season, boosting prospects of an all-time high output this year, Agriculture Ministry said today.
Wheat acreage stood at 298.19 lakh hectares in the same period last season. Wheat, a major rabi crop, is sown from October, while harvesting begins from April.
According to the latest data released by the Agriculture Ministry, area under cultivation of rabi rice, pulses and oilseeds as on today is higher than that in the year-ago period.
Pulses area has increased to 161.90 lakh hectares as on today from 152.65 lakh hectares in the year-ago period, while area under oilseeds rose to 90.07 lakh hectares from 87.25 lakh hectares.

Similarly, rice acreage has increased to 25.93 lakh hectares from 18.84 lakh hectares in the review period.
However, area under the cultivation of coarse cereals has marginally declined at 60.94 lakh hectares as on today from 61.92 lakh hectares in the year-ago.

Total area under all rabi crops has increased to 654.16 lakh hectares so far this rabi season, as against 618.85 lakh hectares in the year-ago period.
Looking at the encouraging sowing figures, Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar had recently said the country's total wheat output is expected to cross 100 million tonnes, setting a fresh record for this year.

Pawar had also said that overall foodgrains production in 2013-14 crop year (July-June) is likely to break the previous record of 259.29 million tonnes achieved in 2011-12.