Mustard seed sowing up 22%; wheat slightly down this rabi season: Agriculture Ministry Most
New Delhi.Area sown under rapeseed/mustard seed crop is higher 22.46 per cent to
88.54 lakh hectare, while the coverage under wheat crop remains slightly
lower so far in the ongoing 2021-22 rabi season, according to the latest data
released by the agriculture ministry.Wheat, the main rabi crop, has been
planted at 325.88 lakh hectare as on Friday, compared with 329.11 lakh
hectare in the year-ago period, it said.
Sowing of rabi crops like wheat begins in October and harvesting from April
onwards.
According to the data, total area under oilseeds has increased sharply to 97.07
lakh hectare as on December 31, 2021 from 80.64 lakh hectare in the year-ago
period.
Among oilseeds, rapeseed and mustard seed were covered in a maximum
area of about 88.54 lakh hectare in the period under review as against 72.30
lakh hectare in the year-ago period.
Area sown under groundnut remained flat at 3.64 lakh hectare, linseed at 2.57
lakh hectare, sunflower at 1.01 lakh hectare, safllower at 0.68 lakh hectare,
sesamum at 0.30 lakh hectare, and other oilseeds at 0.33 lakh hectare in the
period, the data showed.
Rise in the area under mustard seed crop is a positive sign for a country that
depends on imports to meet 60 per cent of its domestic requirement and is
struggling to keep retail prices under check amid a global price rise situation.
In case of other major rabi crops, area sown under pulses remained slightly
lower at 152.62 lakh hectare as on December 31, 2021 as against 154.04 lakh
hectare in the year-ago period.
Gram, the main rabi pulse, was grown in a slightly higher area of 107.69 lakh
hectare as against 105.68 lakh hectare in the year-ago period.
Area sown to lentil was marginally higher at 16.76 lakh hectare, while eld pea
was sown in 9.61 lakh hectare, kulthi in 3.34 lakh hectare, urad bean in 5.66
lakh hectare, moong bean in 2.29 lakh hectare and lathyrus in 3.32 lakh
hectare so far in the ongoing rabi season of 2021-22 crop year (July-June).
PTI