From October, Rabi sowing season begins while harvesting starts March onwards. Besides wheat, gram and mustard are the other main rabi crops.
According to the Agriculture Ministry – “Area sown with wheat, which is the main rabi crop, rose by 3.36 percent so far to 138.35 lakh ha in the current rabi season from 133.84 lakh ha in the previous year.”
As per the Ministry’s data – “wheat has been sown in 35.8 lakh ha in Madhya Pradesh, 34.98 lakh ha in Uttar Pradesh, 29.45 lakh ha in Punjab, 13.78 lakh ha in Haryana and 13.37 Lakh ha in Rajasthan so far in the ongoing season. These are the major wheat-growing states in the country.”
Other than wheat, the area sown to pulses has elevated from 94.02 lakh ha in the previous year to 97.53 lakh ha as of November 26th. Area sowed to coarse and Nutri cereals were slightly lower at 25.87 lakh ha in comparison to last year. Oilseeds acreage increased from 60.15 lakh ha in the previous year to 76.60 lakh ha so far this season.
Data showed that – “total area sown in rabi crops was 346.13 lakh ha so far this rabi season of 2021-22 crop year, up from 322.70 lakh ha in the year-ago period.”
In India, the crop year runs from July to June. On more than 50 percent of the normal rabi crop area of 625.14 lakh ha, sowing has been already undertaken.
Rabi crops are sown around mid-November, preferably after the monsoon rains are over, and harvesting begins in April/May. The crops are grown either with rainwater that has percolated into the ground for using irrigation. Good rain in winter spoils the rabi crops but is good for Kharif crops.
The major rabi crop in India is wheat, followed by barley, mustard, sesame, and peas. Peas are harvested early, as they are ready early: Indian markets are flooded with green peas from January to March, peaking in February.
