Cash crops witness better coverage than food crops; rainfall to improve in last week of July.
With Karnataka witnessing a below-normal rainfall, sowing operations have slowed for the current kharif. Till the first week of July, 2.10 million hectares of land was sowed, which is about 65.2 per cent of the normal area of 3.22 million hectares.
Till this period of time, sowing status was above normal in 4 districts, normal in 11and below normal in 15 districts.
After a good spell of rain in the initial part of the current season, the southwest monsoon weakened towards the end of June and early July. The state received an actual rainfall of 55 mm against the normal level of 63 mm, showing an 11 per cent drop. However, the state recorded an increase of 2 per cent in actual rainfall between early June and July, as it witnessed 258 mm of rainfall compared to the normal level of 253 mm.
Among 176 taluks in 30 districts, rainfall was excess in 41 taluks, normal in 85, deficit in 39 and scanty in one .
“The sowing operations, which were above normal levels till the third week of June, slumped in the last 15 days owing to weakened monsoon in a major part of the state. However, we expect the rains to improve in the next two weeks,”an agriculture department official said.
According to the state agriculture department, sowing for food crops was completed in 1.16 million hectares of land, 23 per cent of the target for this kharif season. The state has set a target of 5.15 million hectares this year.
The planting of sugarcane saw good coverage, as it achieved 82 per cent of its total target of 398,000 hectares. The sowing as a whole in cash crops was completed in 643,000 hectares, about 69 per cent of the target of 933,000 hectares. The sowing for oilseeds was done in 293,000 hectares, is just 21 per cent of the target of 1.37 million.
With a target of 3.49 million hectares, the sowing in cereals was done in 873,000 hectares, accounting a net coverage of 25 per cent. Maize, jowar and minor millets has seen good coverage so far.
Sowing in pulses saw a significant decline with just 17 per cent of the targeted area being sowed till the first week of July. As against the target of 1.66 million hectares sowing has been completed in 292,000 hectares so far. Pulses like, greengram, blackgram andcowpea saw better sowing than tur (red gram) and horsegram.
Despite inadequate rain, cotton sowing was better than last year at 230,000 hectares with 56 per cent of the target covered till date. Tobacco planting was done in 88,000 hectares, showing coverage of 72 per cent of the target.
