Kharif Crop Acreage in Telangana Lags Behind Last Year

Hyderabad: In Telangana, a leading South Indian state for the production of paddy, cotton, and maize, the area under Kharif crops reached 121.58 lakh acres by September 2. This is 4.36 lakh acres less than the 126.44 lakh acres sown during the same period last year, partly due to a deficit in monsoon rainfall this season.

According to official data, compared to the previous year, the area under paddy cultivation in Telangana dropped from 61.73 lakh acres to 52.81 lakh acres, and the area sown with maize declined from 6.24 lakh acres to 5.95 lakh acres, while the acreage for sorghum (jowar) remained steady at 35,000 acres. The total area under cereal crops fell from 68.32 lakh acres to 59.13 lakh acres.

However, the area sown with pulse crops saw an increase of 2.25 lakh acres, rising from 5.62 lakh acres last year to 7.87 lakh acres this season. Within this category, the area under arhar (tur/pigeon pea) increased from 4.76 lakh acres to 5.56 lakh acres, the area sown with moong (green gram) surged from 61,000 acres to 1.59 lakh acres, and the acreage for urad (black gram) rose from 23,000 acres to 66,000 acres. Telangana is among the few states where the area under these three major pulse crops has increased this season.

The area under oilseed crops also improved, rising from 3.68 lakh acres last year to 3.92 lakh acres this season, driven primarily by soybean cultivation. The area sown with soybean increased from 3.60 lakh acres to 3.72 lakh acres. Similarly, the acreage under groundnut and castor also increased. Alongside this, the cotton acreage in Telangana rose from 45.42 lakh acres to 48.22 lakh acres.