Kharif Crop Area Hits Record 1116 Lakh Hectares

24-Sep-2025 10:51 AM

New Delhi. The early arrival of the southwest monsoon and good rainfall in the initial phase, allowing farmers to sow early, seemed to indicate a significant increase in Kharif crop production this year.

However, due to some paddy production, the pace of sowing slowed down and farmers focused on cultivating specific crops. As a result, the total area under Kharif crops increased by only 1 percent from last year. The sowing campaign has ended.

Weekly data from the Union Agriculture Ministry shows that the total area under Kharif crops has increased to 1115.86 lakh hectares as of September 19th in the current year, which is higher than the sown area of ​​1100.42 lakh hectares in the same period last year and the five-year average area of ​​1097 lakh hectares.

During the current Kharif season, maize saw the largest increase in the area under cultivation, reaching 10.65 lakh hectares, or 12.6 percent, compared to last year.

Last year, rice was planted on 11.40 lakh hectares during the week of September 19th, while this time, it was only possible to plant it on 15,000 hectares. Sowing of other Kharif crops had already been completed, and only rice cultivation was being carried out, and that too was almost complete.

According to official data, compared to last year, the area under rice production during the current Kharif season reached a new record high of 430.06 lakh hectares, and the area under pulses improved from 118.40 lakh hectares to 119.29 lakh hectares.

Among pulse crops, the area under black gram increased, while the area under pigeon pea and green gram declined. The area under coarse cereals production increased to 194.01 lakh hectares due to maize, but the area under oilseeds sowing declined by 2.7 per cent to 194.67 lakh hectares.