Sowing of kharif crops may revive with return of monsoon, says expert

The monsoon has revived but the sowing numbers continue to lag. The two-week break by monsoon has led to a deficient monsoon in places like Gujarat, Haryana, and Punjab which are the main sowing areas.

Venkatram Vasantavada, MD & CEO at Seedworks International, said the monsoon started well resulting in an uptick in sowing but then unfortunately because of the break-in monsoon there was a lull in sowing.

However, there is hope since the monsoon has returned. But the revival would happen in millet, maize, and pulses where the sowing window is still there, as well as rice which has a longer sowing window, said Vasantavada.

With regards to other commodities, he said cotton sowing would largely be done by another 10 days, so it would be with a lag and therefore not seeing cotton coming up in a big way.

The next 15-20 days is critical for sowing to progress well, he said.

After advancing over Delhi-NCR, the Southwest Monsoon covered the entire country on Tuesday after a delay of five days, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) said. The Southwest Monsoon usually covers the entire country on July 8. The earlier normal date for the monsoon to cover the entire country was July 15. Last year, the IMD revised its onset date for several areas.