New Delhi : The agriculture ministry reported that the area planted with rice has grown by 2.22 percent to 413.50 lakh hectares in the current 2024-25 kharif season. 404.50 lakh hectares of paddy land were cultivated in the same period last year. The planting of rice, the primary kharif crop, starts when the southwest monsoon begins in June, with harvesting occurring in September. Moreover, the ministry stated that the area cultivated with pulses had risen to 128.58 lakh hectare by September 23 of the current season, up from 119.28 lakh hectare in the corresponding period of the previous year.
The area cultivated with 'arhar' and 'moong' showed an increase in hectares with 46.50 lakh and 35.46 lakh respectively, whereas the area planted with urad slightly decreased to 30.73 lakh hectares in the current season. The cultivation area for coarse cereals and 'Shree Anna' (millets) grew to 192.55 lakh hectare from 186.07 lakh hectare in the previous year.
The cultivation of maize increased from 84.65 lakh hectare to 88.06 lakh hectare among coarse cereals. The land dedicated to growing oilseeds rose slightly to 193.84 lakh hectares during the current kharif season compared to 190.92 lakh hectares in the previous year. Among the major crops, sugarcane cultivation area slightly went up to 57.68 lakh hectare from 57.11 lakh hectare, cotton cultivation area increased to 112.76 lakh hectare from 123.71 lakh hectare, and jute-mesta cultivation area decreased to 5.74 lakh hectare from 6.67 lakh hectare. The total land area planted with all kharif crops was higher at 1104.63 lakh hectare, as opposed to 1088.26 lakh hectare in the previous year.
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