The sowing area in the Kharif crop has declined by over 77 lakh hectare to about 802 lakh hectare till Wednesday.

In the corresponding period last year it was nearly 880 lakh hectare.

The area under rice is over 264 lakh hectare against nearly 288 lakh hectare during the corresponding period of last year.

The area under Total Coarse Cereal is about 141 lakh hectare against 175 lakh hectare during the corresponding period of last year.

The total coverage under pulses so far is around 75 lakh hectare against over 89 lakh hectare, which is nearly 15 lakh hectare less than the area sown during the corresponding period of last year.

The area under oilseed is about 152 lakh hectare against 158 lakh hectare and thus lower area coverage over 6 lakh hectare than the last year.

Higher area covered in the season has been reported from Haryana, Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Chattisgarh and Bihar.

In sugarcane the total coverage is nearly 53 lakh hectare as against around 51 lakh hectare during the corresonding period of last year.

Higher area is reported in all Sugarcane growing States except Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka and Maharashtra. In Cotton the total cover is over 109 lakh hectare as against about 110 lakh hectare during the corresponding period of last year.