Over 284 lakh hectare area have been brought under wheat cultivation across the country so far. A data released by the Agriculture Ministry said the cultivated area is about 80 thousand hectare more than last year during the same period. Higher average of wheat has been reported from Madhya Pradesh followed by Rajasthan, Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh and Bihar.The release said that sowing of rice is also picking up in States of Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka and Odisha.