87% sowing completed for Kharif season 2023 in Maharashtra: Official

Maharashtra agriculture commissioner Sunil Chavan on Thursday said 87 per cent of sowing for the Kharif season has been completed in the state.

He also said fertilisers and seeds are fully available for farmers during the season.

The total land area under sowing during Kharif season is 142 lakh hectares and a total of 123.78 lakh hectares have been covered, Chavan was quoted as saying in a release from the district information office here.

He also said rainfall in the state between June 1 and July 31 was 570.50 millimetres, which is 106 per cent of the average rainfall of 538.50 mm.

"Sowing has picked up in the state, especially of cotton, soybean, tur and replanting rice crops. As on July 31, soybean has been sowed on 46.72 lakh hectares, cotton on 40.84 lakh hectares, tur on 10.21 lakh hectares and paddy on 9.33 lakh hectares," he said.

The release said 21.78 lakh kilograms of seeds are available for Kharif season 2023 against demand of 19.21 lakh kilograms, while 43.13 lakh metric tonnes of fertiliser will be supplied during the season.

"So far, 52.13 lakh metric tonnes of fertilisers is available, of which 26.02 lakh tonnes has been sold and 26.11 lakh tonnes is in balance," it said.