Date:26/11/2004 URL: http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/2004/11/26/stories/2004112600831000.htm

Back Rabi oilseeds sowing gathers momentum

Our Bureau

Chennai , Nov. 25

RABI oilseeds sowing has picked up, while coverage in other crops, barring wheat, continues to lag behind.

According to a Union Agriculture Ministry statement, sowing in rapeseed/mustard and groundnut has gathered pace after trailing initially. Coverage of rapeseed/mustard has especially picked up with 47.80 lakh hectares (lh) coming under the crop so far against 45.38 lh during the same period a year ago.

The area under groundnut has increased to 2.57 lh (1.50 lh), but coverage of other oilseeds such as safflower, sunflower, sesamum and linseed continue to lag behind.

Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Haryana and Rajasthan have reported a rise in the area under rapeseed/mustard, while it is down in Gujarat. In the case of groundnut, there has been a rise in area in Tamil Nadu.

Wheat sowing, which has been encouraging since the start of the rabi season, is in full flow.

Till now, 56.73 lh (51.49 lh) have been covered. Haryana, Uttar Pradesh and Punjab have reported a rise in the coverage, while Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra have reported a dip. Area under rice is still down at 1.51 lh (1.87 lh) with only Tamil Nadu witnessing an increase in coverage, thanks to good showers under the influence of the north-east monsoon.

Coverage of coarse cereals is down by 1.2 lh at 52.22 lh with the area under jowar and maize dipping. In the case of jowar, Maharashtra is witnessing a rise, while Karnataka is seeing a fall. While Gujarat and Tamil Nadu have reported a rise in area under maize, Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka are witnessing a fall.

The area under pulses is currently showing a decline of 7.7 lh at 61.60 lh, with coverage of gram falling by 6.2 lh to 37.10 lh. While the area is up in Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh, it is down in Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka and Rajasthan.

For the rabi season, which began on October 1, the rainfall has been excess in 23 of the 36 meteorological sub-divisions, while the all-India weighted average till November 17 is up seven per cent.

Water storage levels continue to be 5-6 per cent higher than the same period last year in almost all the reservoirs.