Maha kharif sowing crosses 1 crore hectares, but delayed monsoon leaves 44 lakh hectares unsown
Maharashtra’s kharif sowing crossed 10 million hectares (70% of normal area), boosted by recent rains but still below last year’s pace. Nearly 4.4 million hectares remain unsown, with delayed rainfall reducing rice, maize, pulses, soybean, and groundnut acreage, raising concerns over yields.
Kolhapur: Kharif sowing across Maharashtra crossed the 1 crore hectares on Wednesday (70% of total cultivable land), about one-and-a-half months into the monsoon season. While heavy rainfall over the past two weeks accelerated farm operations across several parts of the state, persistent deficits in rain-shadow regions have left nearly 44 lakh hectares of cultivable land unsown.
The state agriculture department said coverage rose sharply from the July 1 level after improved rainfall in early July increased sowing by nearly two-and-a-half times. It, however, still trails last year’s 84% coverage for the same period.
Maharashtra’s average kharif cultivation area is around 1.44 crore hectares. Oilseeds account for the largest share of sowing at 40 lakh hectares, followed by cotton (33.74 lakh hectares), cereals (14.58 lakh hectares) and pulses (12.04 lakh hectares).
Agriculture experts warned that the area left unsown this season could be unusually high as delayed and deficient rainfall narrowed the sowing window and discouraged farmers in several regions. “This is an extraordinary year marked by delayed rains. The proportion of unsown area is likely to be high,” Dyandeo Wakure, an agriculture expert associated with the Chhatrapati Shahu Maharaj Administrative Research and Training Institute (Saarthi), said.
“Usually, around 1.57 crore hectares come under cultivation by the end of the season. Current data suggests many farmers may have decided to forgo kharif sowing and begin preparations for the rabi season. Intermittent dry spells could also trigger re-sowing in some areas and eventually impact yields,” he said.
Crop-wise data showed sizeable gaps compared to normal sowing levels. Around 21% of the average cereal cultivation area remains unsown, while the shortfall stands at 23% for pulses and 12% for oilseeds. Among cereals, rice and maize have been most affected. Rice cultivation is down by 11% compared to the average area under the crop, while maize sowing is 38% lower. In contrast, maize sowing had exceeded normal levels last year, reaching 137% of the average area by the same date.
Delayed rainfall has also reduced acreage under key pulse crops like tur, mung and urad. Urad has witnessed the sharpest decline, with sowing down nearly 60% compared to the corresponding period last year. Among oilseeds, soybean sowing is down 13%, while groundnut acreage has fallen by 11% year-on-year.
Farmers said access to irrigation had become the key differentiator this season. “Farmers with irrigation facilities have completed rice transplantation, while those dependent entirely on rainfall have been unable to do so. In the ghats region, rice is transplanted in clay fields holding four to five inches of water. Even if rains pause for some time, the retained moisture helps the crop survive,” Ajit Utturkar, a rice farmer from Ajara tehsil in Kolhapur district, said.
With the monsoon still uneven across parts of Maharashtra, experts said the coming weeks would be crucial in determining whether additional acreage could be brought under cultivation and whether existing crops could avoid moisture stress during critical growth stages.
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Source : The Times Of India
