Crop Report
India kharif sowing down nearly 5% on year as of Friday; urad up
This story was originally published at 19:00 IST on 24 July 2026
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--India kharif acreage 78.74 mln ha so far vs 82.62 mln ha year ago
--India kharif paddy acreage 23.4 mln ha so far vs 24.1 mln ha year ago
--India kharif pulses acreage 8.5 mln ha so far vs 9.1 mln ha year ago
--India kharif tur acreage 3.1 mln ha so far vs 3.5 mln ha year ago
--India kharif urad acreage 1.9 mln ha so far vs 1.7 mln ha year ago
--India kharif moong acreage 2.7 mln ha so far vs 2.8 mln ha year ago
--India kharif oilseeds acreage 16.4 mln ha so far vs 16.7 mln ha year ago
--India kharif groundnut acreage 4.0 mln ha so far vs 4.1 mln ha year ago
--India kharif soybean acreage 11.4 mln ha so far vs 11.7 mln ha year ago
--India kharif maize acreage 7.8 mln ha so far vs 8.6 mln ha year ago
--India kharif coarse cereals acreage 14.2 mln ha so far vs 16.1 mln ha
--India kharif bajra acreage 5.0 mln ha so far vs 5.8 mln ha year ago
--India kharif jowar acreage 1.1 mln ha so far vs 1.2 mln ha year ago
--India kharif cotton acreage 9.9 mln ha so far vs 10.3 mln ha year ago
--India kharif sugarcane acreage 5.8 mln ha so far vs 5.7 mln ha yr ago
MUMBAI – Farmers across the country had sown kharif crops across 78.74 million hectares as of Friday, down nearly 5% from a year earlier, according to data from the agriculture ministry. The progress in sowing of most crops remained slow, as the year-on-year decline was little changed from 6% last Friday.
Sowing activities of most crops have been affected by the delayed onset of the monsoon and deficient rainfall across much of the country. During Jun. 1–Jul. 24, the cumulative rainfall over the country was 16?low normal at 319.2 millimetres.
The area under paddy, the largest kharif crop, was down 2.6% on year at 23.4 million hectares as of Friday. Meanwhile, maize acreage fell 9.5% on year to 7.8 million hectares.
However, the shortfall in pulses acreage as of Friday has narrowed to 7.5% on year from 15% on year last week, mainly due to improvement in urad sowing. Urad acreage rose 8% on year to 1.9 million hectares, while tur area was down nearly 12%, and moong fell over 5%.
The area sown under oilseeds was 2% lower on year at 16.4 million hectares, as groundnut fell 1.4% and soybean declined 3% on year.
Among cash crops, sugarcane and jute acreage continued to register a marginal rise from the year-ago levels, while cotton cultivation remained below the year-ago levels. The area under sugarcane as of Friday was up 1.5% on year at 5.8 million hectares, but the area under cotton fell nearly 4% on year to 9.9 million hectares, the data showed.
The following table details the sowing of key kharif crops as of Friday, in million hectares, compared with year-ago levels and the year-on-year change in percentage terms:
| Crop | Acreage 2026 (mln ha) | Acreage 2025 (mln ha) | Change(%) |
| Paddy | 23.44 | 24.06 | -2.6 |
| Tur | 3.12 | 3.53 | -11.6 |
| Urad | 1.87 | 1.73 | 8.1 |
| Moong | 2.69 | 2.84 | -5.3 |
| Total Pulses* | 8.5 | 9.15 | -7.1 |
| Maize | 7.78 | 8.62 | -9.7 |
| Bajra | 4.95 | 5.81 | -14.7 |
| Jowar | 1.11 | 1.25 | -11.1 |
| Total Coarse Cereals* | 14.22 | 16.15 | -12 |
| Groundnut | 4.02 | 4.08 | -1.4 |
| Soybean | 11.40 | 11.72 | -3.0 |
| Total Oilseeds* | 16.35 | 16.70 | -2.0 |
| Sugarcane | 5.76 | 5.67 | 1.5 |
| Jute | 0.63 | 0.62 | 1.67 |
| Cotton | 9.87 | 10.27 | -3.9 |
| Grand Total* | 78.74 | 82.62 | -4.7 |
* The total figures will not tally due to the omission of some smaller crops
End
Reported by Afra Abubacker
Edited by Akul Nishant Akhoury
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