NEW DELHI: Area sown to paddy increased by 5 per cent to 328.22 lakh hectares in the ongoing kharif season so far, but there was a lag in coverage in Odisha, Andhra Pradesh and Assam, according to the Agriculture Ministry data released on Friday.
Paddy, which is a major kharif crop, was sown in 312.80 lakh tonnes in the year-ago period.
However, coverage of pulses, oilseeds, cotton and jute/mesta was lagging behind till August 11 of the kharif season.
Area sown to paddy in Odisha was down at 18.97 lakh hectares so far this kharif season, as against 20.356 lakh hectares in the same season of the previous year.
Similarly, paddy sowing in Andhra Pradesh remained lower at 6.86 lakh hectares as against 8.28 lakh hectares, while in Assam too the coverage was lower at 14.92 lakh hectares as against 16.25 lakh hectares in the said period.
Coarse cereals area rose marginally to 171.36 lakh hectares so far in the kharif season from 167.73 lakh hectares in the same season of the previous year. The acreage of pulses remained lower at 113.07 lakh hectares till August 11 of the ongoing kharif season as against 122.77 lakh hectares a year ago.
Oilseeds coverage was marginally lower at 183.33 lakh hectares as against 184.61 lakh hectares in the said period.
Among cash crops, area sown to sugarcane increased slightly to 56.06 lakh hectares till August 11 of this kharif season as against 55.20 lakh hectares in the same season of the previous year.
However, area sown to cotton was marginally lower at 121.28 lakh hectares as against 122.53 lakh hectares, while that of jute/mesta was also covered in less area of 6.56 lakh hectares compared with 6.95 lakh hectares in the said period.
Total area covered under all kharif crops, however, rose marginally to 979.88 lakh hectares till August 11 of the ongoing kharif season, when compared with 972.58 lakh hectares in the same season of the previous year.
