Rain improves sowing of kharif crops (Hindu 13 July 2010)

The revival of monsoon has resulted in a marked improvement in the sowing of kharif crops, according to the Union Agriculture Ministry.
But for some pulses, particularly moong and maize, the coverage of all crops is almost at par with last year's in the corresponding period.
Paddy has been sown so far in 72.3-lakh hectares as against 68.67-lakh hectares same time last year. Punjab has sown the highest (15.23-lakh hectares) followed by Orissa where the coverage is 10.43-lakh hectares.
At 58.27-lakh hectares, sowing of coarse cereals has exceeded last year's level of 53.28-lakh hectares, but the sowing of maize is still short at 27.96-lakh hectares compared to 30.04-lakh hectares sown the previous year, due to delayed monsoon in Uttar Pradesh and parts of Madhya Pradesh.
The sowing of oilseeds is very encouraging at 58.39-lakh hectares compared to 56.64-lakh hectares last year. The area under sugarcane has also improved to 47.37-lakh hectares as against 41.79-lakh hectares same time last year.
Cotton coverage this year is 17.62 per cent higher at 66.06-lakh hectares as against 48.47-lakh hectares last year. Jute coverage has also increased to 7.59-lakh hectares from the last year's 6.89-lakh hectares.The total storage in 81 important reservoirs, monitored by the Central Water Commission, is 6.883 billion cubic metres higher than last year. Twenty-six reservoirs have storage level of more than 80 per cent, while 26 others have storage of between 51 and 80 per cent