Area under paddy is down nearly 35 percent to 10.77 lakh hectares so far in the ongoing kharif (summer-sown) season amid some initial delays in the progress of the southwest monsoon. The rice acreage stood at 16.46 lakh hectares in the corresponding period of last year, according to agriculture ministry data.

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Area under coverage for pulses is higher at 6.54 lakh hectares so far from 6.30 lakh hectares in the same period last year, the ministry said in a statement. Shri Anna-cum-Coarse Cereals acreage stood higher at 18.95 lakh hectares so far as against 13.38 lakh hectares in the corresponding period last year.

Area under coverage for oilseeds is down slightly at 9.21 lakh hectares from 9.52 lakh hectares. Cotton acreage is also down at 28.02 lakh hectares so far from 32.67 lakh hectares last year. Area under sugarcane remains flat at 50.76 lakh hectares so far this year as against 50.74 lakh hectares.

Total acreage under all major kharif crops is 129.53 lakh hectares as on Friday (June 23) as against 135.64 lakh hectares in the same period last year. Paddy is the main kharif crop, sowing of which normally starts with the onset of southwest monsoon. About 80 percent of the country's total rice production comes from the kharif season. Earlier this week, Agriculture Commissioner P K Singh had said, "Paddy sowing has just started and it has been good so far in areas which have received rainfall. It is picking up as the monsoon progresses in different parts of the country".

In some parts, farmers have started preparing nurseries, he had said. In nurseries, the paddy seeds are first sown and raised into young plants. The plants are then uprooted and replanted in the main field.

The southwest monsoon hit India on June 8 with its onset over Kerala against the normal date of June 1. India is expected to get normal rainfall during the southwest monsoon season despite the evolving El Nino conditions, the IMD had earlier said.

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El Nino, which is the warming of the waters in the Pacific Ocean near South America, is generally associated with the weakening of monsoon winds and dry weather in India. El Nino conditions this year follow three consecutive La Nina years. La Nina, which is the opposite of El Nino, typically brings good rainfall during the monsoon season.

(Edited by : Keshav Singh Chundawat)