33% sowing due to inadequate rainfall in Nagpur Division
| Date :10-Jul-2019 |
Staff Reporter:
The farmers in six districts of Nagpur Division are a worried lot. Due to delayed and below-average rainfall despite the start of second week of July, farmers have completed sowing operations only in 33 per cent of the Kharif area. This year, monsoon started in Nagpur Division towards the end of the month of June. Later, there were good downpours in some parts. Buoyed with this and hoping that the good spell of rainfall would continue, farmers took up sowing operations.
However, in the past few days, again, rainfall was interrupted. As per the data with Agriculture Department, sowing operations were completed in 22.39 per cent of the Kharif area till July 4. According to officials, as per the latest report received till Tuesday (July 9) evening, sowing operations were completed in 33 per cent of the Kharif area. The total area of Kharif in Nagpur Division is 19,27,692 hectares. This includes 4,79,615 hectares in Nagpur district, 4,42,789 hectares in Wardha, 2,03,618 hectares in Bhandara, 1,85,763 hectares in Gondia, 4,48,169 hectares in Chandrapur, and 1,67,738 hectares in Gadchiroli district. Till July 4, sowing operations were completed in 4,31,572 hectares.
As has been the trend in the past three years, the districts of Bhandara and Gondia have registered the lowest sowing percentage. In fact, in the past two years, farmers in several parts of these two districts decided not to till their lands because of delayed and inadequate rainfall. In the other districts of paddy belt, nurseries of rice crop are being prepared and at some places broadcast method has been followed. In Nagpur district also, nurseries are being prepared. Soyabean has been sown in 23,585 hectares and Tur crop is in growth stage. In Wardha district, Cotton has been sown in 1,13,924 hectares, followed by Soyabean in 18,464 hectares, and Tur in 23,697 hectares.
In Bhandara district, rice has been sown in 2,158 hectares by adopting broadcast method. Similarly, in Gondia district, broadcast method has been adopted for rice cultivation in 811 hectares. Gadchiroli district has reported sowing of paddy in 3,406 hectares, Tur in 806 hectares, and Cotton in 1,773 hectares. Agriculture Department expects sowing to make substantial progress next week, anticipating more rainfall. As per the data with the department, Nagpur Division has received 83 per cent of the average rainfall for the period between June 1 and July 4 this year. During the same period the previous year, 89.1 per cent rainfall was received.