Rapeseed-mustard production to touch 71 lakh tonnes

KOLKATA: The overall area under rape-mustard has increased by 1.85 lakh hectares to 67.17 lakh hectares while the production is expected to jump by 12.32 lakh tonnes to 71.12 lakh tonnes, due to good subsoil moisture at the time of sowing, useful showers during January and February and no damage due to severe cold and continuous favourable weather has helped to increase the production. This was indicated by the Solvent Extractors Association of India ( SEA) after the representatives of the association made an extensive field visits.

The team members reported that in some districts of Rajasthan, there is variation in the area reported by the Rajasthan government. This year due to late sowing and high temperature in the beginning of the season, the crop is delayed by 15 to 20 days. Also the estimate is based on current weather condition and expecting that cold temperature will maintain for next 2 to 3 weeks, a SEA release said. However, if temperature rise in next few days, may have some impact in yield and the overall production.

The association is being involved in various programmes for increasing the productivity of different oilseeds, including Rapeseed. Gujarat Mustard-3 variety (GM-3) is a very promising high yielding variety. In the beginning of rabi season, the association had procured this mustard seed variety and distributed to the progressive farmers through the members - solvent extraction plants, across Gujarat, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and also in Maharashtra and had requested to grow a small portion in their farm as a trial and evaluation purposes.

These farms were continuously monitored by the coordinators of the solvent extraction plants and some of the farms also visited by the members of Survey Team to see themselves the progress. It was found that wherever Gujarat Mustard-3 variety sown, the yield has increased by 30% to 50% in comparison with yield of conventional variety grown in the same farms.

The SEA release said that they are monitoring the exact yield in each farms where GM-3 seed variety grown vis-a-vis yield of conventional variety of the said farms. The data collected would greatly help us to evaluate and promote GM-3 variety in the next season in a big way.

If the seed of this variety is abundantly made available and propagated, it will not be difficult to achieve the target of 100 lakh tonnes of rapeseed mustard in the next three to five years, as happened in BT Cotton in last one decade.