Kharif sowing may fall short of last year's level by almost 1.3 mn hectares

Sowing of kharif crops begins with the onset of southwest monsoon from July and harvesting from October

Kharif sowing continued to fall short of last year’s figure by almost 1.3 million hectares due to shift from pulses to oilseeds in some states and low acreage owing to drought in others.

With the southwest monsoon entering its last month and amount of rain expected to remain low, sowing of kharif crops is unlikely to pick up in a big way.

This would mean that acreage of some major crops may remain below last years’ level, though the actual impact on the total output will depend on the weather during the remaining few weeks. 

According to the Met department,