Wheat acreage up slightly at 34.1 mn hectare so far this rabi season
Wheat acreage has increased marginally to 341.13 lakh hectare (ha) so far in the ongoing rabi season of the 2022-23 crop year (July-June), according to the agriculture ministry data.
Sowing of wheat, the main rabi (winter) crop, had begun from October onwards. Maize, jowar, gram and mustard are other major rabi crops. Harvesting of these crops will begin in March/April next year.
According to the latest data, the area under coverage for wheat has risen to 341.13 lakh ha till January 20 of the current rabi season of the 2022-23 crop year (July-June) against 339.87 lakh ha during the same period last year.
The higher area has been reported mainly from Rajasthan (2.52 lakh ha), Bihar (1.49 lakh ha), Maharashtra (0.92 lakh ha), Chhattisgarh (0.54 lakh ha), Gujarat (0.48 lakh ha) and Uttar Pradesh (0.22 lakh ha).
The lesser area under coverage for wheat is mainly reported from Madhya Pradesh (4.15 lakh ha), Jharkhand (0.34 lakh ha), Punjab (0.18 lakh ha), Himachal Pradesh (0.10 lakh ha