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Informist, Wednesday, Jul. 1, 2026

 

MUMBAI – The progress in kharif sowing in Maharashtra continues to be sluggish, with 1.12 million hectares covered as of Monday, down more than 85% from 7.67 million hectares covered a year ago, according to a report released by the state agriculture department. The normal acreage for the season is 15.75 million hectares, of which only 7% is covered so far.

 

During June, Maharashtra received 110.6 millimetres of rainfall, 47?low the normal of 209.8 millimetres for the month, according to the India Meteorological Department. Rainfall remained largely deficient throughout Maharashtra despite the southwest monsoon covering the state by Jun. 23. While parts of the Konkan coast saw a rise in the intensity and spread of rainfall in the last few days of June, most parts of interior Maharashtra continued to receive only occasional wet spells, which could not make up for the dry spell the state witnessed for most of the month. As such, the progress in kharif sowing has remained sluggish. 

 

Paddy acreage in the state fell to 46,420 hectares from 117,830 hectares a year ago, the report showed. The area under maize was down at 86,578 hectares from 801,562 hectares a year ago, and that under bajra declined to 8,104 hectares from 186,410 hectares.

 

The area under tur was 82,894 hectares, down from 643,810 hectares a year ago, according to the report. Moong acreage was down at 5,627 hectares from 146,031 hectares, while that of urad fell to 6,516 hectares from 236,178 hectares. The total area under all pulses was down at 96,082 hectares from 1.04 million hectares a year ago.

 

The area under all oilseeds so far was 126,425 hectares, down from 2.97 million hectares a year ago, the report showed. The area under groundnut slipped to 6,252 hectares from 56,690 hectares. The acreage of soybean was down at 119,008 hectares from 2.91 million hectares.

 

The area under cotton was down at 726,804 hectares from 2.48 million hectares a year ago, while that under sugarcane fell to 26,132 hectares from 39,052 hectares.

 

Kharif crops are sown at the beginning of the southwest monsoon season around June and harvested around October. As of Wednesday, the water level in dams across Maharashtra was nearly 24% of their live storage capacity, down from 46% a year ago, according to data from the state water resources department. With persistently low water levels in reservoirs, the state government has directed officials to stop the release of dam water for agricultural irrigation and reserve available stocks exclusively for drinking purposes until Aug. 31. This is likely to slow down the progress of kharif sowing in the state further.  End

 

Reported by Shreya Shetty

Edited by Avishek Dutta

 

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