VIJAYAWADA: Andhra Pradesh raised crops in 37.42 lakh hectares against the seasonal normal of 45.89 lakh hectares, during the Kharif season that ended on September 30 this year.
While the agriculture department targeted paddy cultivation -- the major Kharif crop -- in at least 15.12 lakh hectares, the total sown area of paddy stood at 13.65 lakh hectares, covering 90 per cent of the normal targeted area for the crop this season.
This represents an increase of 0.55 lakh hectare in acreage, compared to the corresponding Kharif 2023 season.
The total crop-sown acreage, at 37.42 lakh hectares covering 82 per cent of the available area, is higher than that of the previous Kharif 2023 season, which recorded 35.42 lakh hectares of sowing.
According to the data, cereals and millets, including paddy, jowar, bajra, maize, ragi and other small millets were sown in 15.82 lakh hectares against the normal 17.05 lakh hectares. However, the area sown for cereals and millets in Kharif 2024 is higher than that of the previous Kharif season, when these crops had been sown in 14.92 lakh hectares.
Similarly, the area for pulses crops, including red gram, black gram, green gram, horse gram etc, surpassed the normal sowing area of 2.97 lakh hectares. Sowing was done on 3.94 lakh hectares, covering 133 per cent of the area in the Kharif 2024 season. The area for pulses in the previous Kharif 2023 season stretched 2.24 lakh hectares.
The sown area for oilseed crops continued to remain low, with only 4.98 lakh hectares cultivated against the normal area of 8.10 lakh hectares, covering 61 per cent of the area. This represents an increase of 0.28 lakh hectares, compared to the previous Kharif 2023 season, where oilseed crops were sown in 4.70 lakh hectares.
The cotton crop was sown in 3.95 lakh hectares against the normal cultivation area of 5.79 lakh hectares. Vegetables were sown in 0.67 lakh hectares against the normal 0.78 lakh hectares in the current Kharif season.
