New Delhi, Jul 16 (PTI) The area under the coverage for paddy is 7 per cent down so far during this Kharif season at 161.97 lakh hectares, according to the agriculture ministry data.

The paddy acreage stood at 174.44 lakh hectares in the same period last year.

Paddy is a major Kharif crop (summer-sown).

The total area under all Kharif crops fell to 611.89 lakh hectares so far from 691.93 lakh hectares in the same period last year.

Similarly, the area under pulses remained lower at 70.64 lakh hectares compared to 80.36 lakh hectares in the year-ago period.

Sowing of coarse cereals was down at 91.34 lakh hectare as against 115.07 lakh hectare, while area sown to oilseeds remained lower at 128.91 lakh hectare from 149.35 lakh hectare a year ago.

Among cash crops, the area sown to cotton was lower at 98.38 lakh hectares so far this Kharif season as against 113 lakh hectares in the year-ago period.

Southwest monsoon is critical for Indian agriculture as nearly 60 per cent of the farmland do not have irrigation.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)