Kharif sowing window closing,paddy down 21

Sowing in Uttar Pradesh is down by

8.75 lakh hectares 33 per cent fall from 2008,in Bihar by 6.39 lakh hectares down 30 per cent,in Chhattisgarh by 5.87 lakh hectares down 27 per cent,in West Bengal by 2.80 lakh hectares down 35 per cent,in Punjab by 1.93 lakh hectares down 8 per cent,in Maharashtra by 1.42 lakh hectares down 36.32 per cent,and in Jharkhand by 1.09 lakh hectares down 43 per cent.

The sowing of coarse cereals too is down by over 14.15 lakh hectares countrywide bajra is down from 116.05 lakh hectares last year to 101.90 lakh hectares this year so far.

Oilseeds and pulses seem to have covered lost ground in the last two weeks of active monsoon in most parts of the country except the north-west and north-east. However,sowing is still down in comparison to the situation in 2008.