Wheat sowing improved, acreage nears last year's level; chana still down

Sowing of wheat further improved during the week ended December 29 and the area covered was almost at last year’s level of 32.45 million hectares. Wheat acreage till December 29 was at 32.05 million hectares, slightly lower than the same period last year.

Meanwhile, the sowing data also showed that acreage under chana, the biggest pulse grown in the country, was down by almost 8 per cent as compared to last year due to less rainfall in Karnataka and Maharashtra.Cold weather and foggy conditions are suitable for wheat crop.

With wheat sowing almost ending in most places, all eyes will be on the weather here onwards till March end to get a fair idea on the size of the crop. The India Meteorological Department (IMD) in its latest weather update said that till January 4 there is no possibility of major cold wave in any part of the country. But, between January 5-11 there is a high probability of a cold wave in isolated pockets of Punjab, Haryana, Chandigarh, Delhi, Rajasthan and UP.