Kharif Sowing Picks Up Pace With The Revival Of Monsoon

Hyderabad:After a sluggish June, sowing for the kharif has gained significant momentum on the strength of the southwest monsoon revival since last week. According to the latest weekly report from the agriculture department, crop was sown in 61,10,170 acres as of July 16.

It still lags behind the 61,63,098 acres recorded the same day last year and falls short of the 66,41,809 acres that constitute the normal crop sown area. Still, this is way better than in June, when just 14 per cent of the expected area was sown.

In terms of crop-wise distribution, cotton continued to be the dominant kharif crop, occupying 38,56,884 acres, followed by paddy (7,78,294 acres), maize (4,49,913 acres), red gram (3,43,823 acres), soyabean (3,30,686 acres) and jowar (17,437 acres).

The late sowing window, particularly from July 15 to 20, is seen as crucial for rainfed crops. The sowing of some crops may continue until the end of the month.

The shortfall is being attributed to a prolonged dry spell that persisted from June through early July. The rainfall in July has not only facilitated sowing operations but has also improved the storage levels in the reservoirs.

As of July 16, reservoirs were holding 592.20 tmc ft of water, more than double 228.96 tmc ft recorded on the same date in 2024.

In June, only three districts had received excess rainfall, seven districts normal rain and a vast majority of 23 districts witnessed deficit to large deficit rainfall. The worst affected among them was Medchal-Malkajgiri.

Between July 9 and 16, the state received a cumulative rainfall of 10.5 mm, well below the normal 57.8 mm for the period, a deficit of 82 per ecnt. The rainfall was unevenly distributed, ranging from a mere 1.3 mm in Nalgonda to a robust 56.4 mm in Asifabad.

Despite the shortfall, these showers were timely in alleviating stress in rainfed regions. The crops already sown are reportedly in healthy condition and are at seedling to vegetative stages, as per the department’s report.

From June 1 to July 16, the overall average rainfall was 176 mm, still 28 per cent below the normal seasonal average of 243.2 mm. Agriculture officials believe that rainfall in the coming days will be critical in achieving full coverage of the rainfed crop area, especially in lagging districts.

With the crucial sowing period approaching its end, the coming week will play a decisive role in determining the final sowing figures for the season.

Gfx

Crop sown in 61,10,170 acres as of July 16

61,63,098 acres sown same day last year

66,41,809 acres normal crop sown area.

Total normal sown area 1,32,44,305 acres.

Half this area expected to be cultivated by mid-July.

Adilabad leads with 97.1% area sown, Wanaparthy is at the bottom with 7.25%

Other poorly performing districts are Suryapet (9.2%), Medak (12.32%) and Medchal-Malkajgiri (15.82%).