Mustard crop area rises by 50 pc in western UP wheat area down

Muzaffarnagar,  Area under mustard crop has surged by nearly 50 per cent in the sugar belt of Uttar Pradesh this year as farmers are looking to cash in higher profit following an increase in the price of mustard oil, according to an official.
Farmers has grown mustard crops in 7,250 hectare area against the government target of 5,387 hectare in Muzaffarnagar district, according to district agriculture officer Jasvir Singh Tewatya.
Area under the mustard crop was 4,841 hectare last year.
Tewatya said that farmers have grown mustard over higher area this year due to a rise in the price of mustard oil in the country.
Farmers have grown wheat crop only in 60,542 hectare against the target of 82,932 hectare in the district. PTI