Kharif crop acreage in Maharashtra drops by 7.15 lakh hectares

18-Aug-2026 06:13 PM

Mumbai: Maharashtra, a leading producer of crops such as maize, tur (pigeon pea), soybean, cotton, and sugarcane, saw its total Kharif crop cultivation area reach 136.33 lakh hectares by August 17 this year. This is approximately 7.15 lakh hectares less than the 143.47 lakh hectares sown during the same period last year.

According to the latest data from the State Agriculture Department, compared to the previous year, the combined cultivation area for paddy and coarse cereals in Maharashtra during the current Kharif season fell from 33.54 lakh hectares to 29.76 lakh hectares. The sown area for pulses dropped from 18.56 lakh hectares to 15.87 lakh hectares, the area for oilseeds fell from 50.89 lakh hectares to 50.35 lakh hectares, and cotton acreage declined from 38.35 lakh hectares to 38.04 lakh hectares. However, there was a slight increase in sugarcane sowing.

During the period under review, the cultivation area for paddy decreased from 14.27 lakh hectares to 12.76 lakh hectares, the area for jowar (sorghum) fell by 84,000 hectares to 2.77 lakh hectares, and maize acreage dropped from 14.38 lakh hectares to 12.78 lakh hectares.

Among pulses, sowing declined for all three crops—tur, moong (green gram), and urad (black gram). Specifically, the cultivation area for tur slipped from 12.07 lakh hectares to 11.82 lakh hectares, the sown area for moong fell from 2.09 lakh hectares to 1.46 lakh hectares, and the area for urad dropped from 3.74 lakh hectares to 1.94 lakh hectares. Among oilseed crops, the area under soybean cultivation declined from 4.942 million hectares to 4.878 million hectares, and the acreage for sesame dropped from 3,000 hectares to 2,000 hectares; however, the area sown with groundnut improved from 0.134 million hectares to 0.139 million hectares, and the area under sunflower increased from 4,000 hectares to 9,000 hectares. Sowing of Kharif crops has reached its final stage.