Kharif Sown Area in Rajasthan Nears 122 Lakh Hectares

14-Jul-2025 03:01 PM

Rajasthan has witnessed a significant increase in the sown area under kharif crops this year, driven by strong and consistent southwest monsoon rains. As per the latest weekly data from the state agriculture department, as of July 11, the total kharif sown area in Rajasthan has reached 121.95 lakh hectares, which is 39.83 lakh hectares more than the 82.12 lakh hectares recorded during the same period last year. The monsoon has been highly favorable for the state this season.

Compared to last year, the area under foodgrain crops, including paddy, increased from 34.31 lakh hectares to 53.83 lakh hectares. Pulses expanded from 13.31 lakh hectares to 27.79 lakh hectares, oilseeds grew from 17.1 lakh hectares to 18.40 lakh hectares, cotton rose from 4.79 lakh hectares to 6.14 lakh hectares, and guar increased from 10.15 lakh hectares to 13.36 lakh hectares. Further growth in these areas is expected.

Within the foodgrain segment, the paddy area rose from 1.66 lakh hectares to 1.97 lakh hectares, sorghum (jowar) increased from 3.71 lakh hectares to 5.53 lakh hectares, pearl millet (bajra) jumped from 21.61 lakh hectares to 37.48 lakh hectares, and maize expanded from 7.3 lakh hectares to 8.83 lakh hectares. Rajasthan remains the leading producer of pearl millet in the country.

In the pulses category, green gram (moong) area more than doubled from 8.72 lakh hectares to 17.88 lakh hectares, moth bean increased from 2.32 lakh hectares to 6.62 lakh hectares, black gram (urad) rose from 1.83 lakh hectares to 2.66 lakh hectares, and cowpea (chawla) grew from 0.39 lakh hectares to 0.53 lakh hectares. Rajasthan ranks first in the production of both moong and moth bean nationally.

In the oilseeds segment, sesame expanded from 0.83 lakh hectares to 1.22 lakh hectares, and groundnut increased from 6.31 lakh hectares to 8.05 lakh hectares. Castor also grew from 0.04 lakh hectares to 0.10 lakh hectares. However, soybean acreage declined from 10.24 lakh hectares to 9.03 lakh hectares. Rajasthan is the second-largest producer of groundnut and the third-largest producer of soybean in India. It also holds the top spot in guar production.