Rabi Crop Area Exceeds 660 Lakh Hectares

27-Jan-2026 09:38 PM

New Delhi. Although sowing of wheat, pulses, oilseeds, and coarse grains is almost complete, the continued cultivation of paddy has increased the area under Rabi crops to 660.48 lakh hectares as of January 23, 2026,

which is 18.24 lakh hectares more than the 642.20 lakh hectares sown during the same period last year. The area under most crops was higher than the previous year.

According to official figures, compared to the 2024-25 season, the area under wheat in the current 2025-26 Rabi season increased from 328.04 lakh hectares to 334.17 lakh hectares, the area under paddy improved from 29.23 lakh hectares to 31.03 lakh hectares,

the area under pulses increased from 133.94 lakh hectares to 137.55 lakh hectares, and the area under coarse grains increased from 57.45 lakh hectares to 60.70 lakh hectares. Similarly, the sowing of Rabi oilseed crops also increased.

This time, farmers showed a greater inclination towards wheat, gram, lentil, maize, barley, mustard, and groundnut. Paddy cultivation is still ongoing in South India, so further improvement in the total area under Rabi crops is possible.

Among Rabi pulses, the area under gram increased by 4.66 lakh hectares and the area under lentil increased by 46,000 hectares. Similarly, among coarse grains, the area under maize increased from 26.21 lakh hectares to 29.05 lakh hectares,

and the area under barley increased by 1.30 lakh hectares to 7.37 lakh hectares. The area under mustard, the most important oilseed crop of the Rabi season, increased by 2.80 lakh hectares to 89.56 lakh hectares, while the area under groundnut improved by 15,000 hectares to reach 3.52 lakh hectares.