Area under Kharif crops in Karnataka reaches 34.58 lakh hectares

23-Jun-2025 07:28 PM

Bengaluru. In Karnataka, an important agricultural state in South India, the area under Kharif crops increased to 34.58 lakh hectares as of June 20 this year.

This is 1.52 lakh hectares more than the 33.06 lakh hectares recorded during the same period last year. During this period, the area under cereal crops, including paddy, rose from 10.67 lakh hectares to 11.61 lakh hectares, while the area under cotton increased from 2.40 lakh hectares to 3.35 lakh hectares.

However, there was a decline in the area under pulses, which fell from 10.37 lakh hectares to 9.75 lakh hectares, and in oilseeds, which dropped from 4.29 lakh hectares to 3.94 lakh hectares.

Among cereals, maize saw a significant rise in area from 8.98 lakh hectares to 9.92 lakh hectares. The area under paddy, sorghum, and millet remained nearly the same as last year, with each staying below the one lakh hectare mark.

In pulses, the area under moong increased from 3.35 lakh hectares to 3.57 lakh hectares. However, the sowing area of black gram declined from 73 thousand hectares to 69 thousand hectares, and the area under tur (Arhar) fell sharply from 5.73 lakh hectares to 4.88 lakh hectares.

Karnataka is the leading producer of tur in the country and is also among the top producers of moong and maize. The reduced enthusiasm for tur cultivation is being attributed to weakening market prices.

In oilseeds, the area under soybean decreased from 3.03 lakh hectares to 2.78 lakh hectares, and the area under groundnut dropped significantly from 82 thousand hectares to just 5 thousand hectares.

However, sunflower cultivation saw a slight increase, rising from 32 thousand hectares to 35 thousand hectares.