Tur production set to go up by 10% in Maharashtra

PUNE: The acreage under tur dal in Maharashtra is set to increase by about 10%, to 1 lakh hectare this kharif, despite the late onset of monsoons. However, this increase is at the expense of other pulses like moong and urad which cannot be sown so late in the season.

Incidentally, Maharashtra is the second largest producer of pulses and it had witnessed a 50% drop in output in the past year due to erratic rains. This year appears to be a repeat, with no expectation of respite to consumers who are currently paying Rs 100 per kg for tur dal.

Sowing of moong and urad has been done only on 48% and 45% area respectively, till July 17 and is not likely to increase. ���There is no likelihood of any increase in the area under urad and moong now. This will be compensated by increase in area of tur, bajra and maize,��� said state���s agriculture commissioner Prabhakar Deshmukh.

���The area under tur is expected to increase by one lakh hectare as the agriculture universities have varieties which can be sown late,��� he added. The normal area under tur in Maharashtra is about 10.5 lakh hectare.
In the past year, kharif area under pulses in the state had gone down by 29%, while production and productivity declined by 46% and 25% respectively.

Till July 17, moong was sown on 3.4 lakh hectare as against 7.1 lakh hectare under moong dal cultivation, while urad was sown on 2.6 lakh hectare of the 5.9 lakh normal cultivation area.

Despite the rains starting almost a month late, the current overall sowing in the state is 72% which is 13% higher than the corresponding period of previous year. The Konkan region has lagged behind all the regions of the state with only 33% sowing, mainly on account of late rains in Thane and Raigad districts, where paddy is yet to be transplanted.

Soyabean, cotton take the lead The sowing of soyabean and cotton has taken a lead with 164% and 98% respectively. Maharashtra is the second largest producer of cotton after Gujarat and of soyabean after Madhya Pradesh. The area under soyabean is increasing every year as farmers get a good price for the commodity due to the high minimum support price.