Wheat Sowing Sees Rise Amidst Decline in Oilseeds Acreage

Wheat sowing increased by 2.15 percent to 319.74 lakh hectares, while oilseeds acreage dropped by 5.14 percent to 96.15 lakh hectares in the rabi season, according to the agriculture ministry. Pulses area remained stable, with gram and lentil coverage specified. Coarse cereals noted a slight increase.

The wheat sowing area has witnessed a growth of 2.15 percent, reaching 319.74 lakh hectares in this year's rabi season, according to the agriculture ministry's recent data. Meanwhile, oilseeds have faced a setback with a 5.14 percent decrease in acreage, now at 96.15 lakh hectares.

Typically the dominant winter crop, wheat is sown from November and harvested in the period between March and April.

Pulses acreage has remained steady at 136.13 lakh hectares as of December 30, with gram covering 93.98 lakh hectares and lentils 17.43 lakh hectares. Slight growth was observed in coarse cereals sowing, which rose to 48.55 lakh hectares.

Meanwhile, oilseed sowing fell short, dropping to 96.15 lakh hectares from last year's 101.37 lakh hectares. Specifically, rapeseed-mustard coverage slid to 88.50 lakh hectares from the previous 93.73 lakh hectares, maintaining groundnut seed area at a consistent 3.32 lakh hectares.