Madhya Pradesh Sows 80% of Pre-Monsoon Cotton Crop; Acreage expected to be higher

MUMBAI(Commoditiescontrol) – Madhya Pradesh cotton sowing began a month ago, in May. Earlier, the pre-monsoon crop’s share was nearly 20% of total acreage, compared to the sowing after monsoon. However, the ​​area under sowing of pre-monsoon cotton has started increasing.

In the past, the farmers used to cultivate cotton which had adequate water available in wells or tube wells as a means of irrigation. Since 2004, the agricultural land started irrigating with the help of open canal of Indira Sagar dam. In more than a decade, due to the availability of open canals in the area and the irrigation canals, summer cotton was planted in large areas.

Presently, about 90 percent of the land is being irrigated transit canals of Indira Sagar dam. Due to this, the sowing was started early by many farmers. The farmers who are lagging in cotton sowing will also finish by the end of this week. The empty land will be spared for soybean or other pulse crops. The arrival of canals of Narmada has greatly benefited the farmers.

So far, increased demand for cotton seeds of hybrid variety of BT cotton is seen. Also, the government, under Paramparagat Krishi Vikas Yojana, is planning to promote the cultivation of indigenous varieties of cotton in Madhya Pradesh. Centre is helping farmers to add more area under indigenous varieties of cotton by improving soil health and fertility so that they can get better remuneration. For Madhya Pradesh, it has recommended JK 1, JK 3 and Suraj varieties.

Meanwhile, in dozens of villages of Punasa Tehsil including Gram Amoda, Kakaria, Matpur, Boradi, cotton is being planted by farmers instead of chilli and soyabean. The incidence of the virus on the chilli crop has increased in those regions. With this, the farmers have stopped cultivating chillies due to crop failure.

This time, the area of ​​cotton has seen 20% increase in Madhya Pradesh. Farmers seem to be very less dependent on rainfall in the Narmada Ghat Region. With adequate supply of water and timely sowing, the arrivals of this summer crop are seen between September 15 – 30, after the auspicious Ganesh Chaturthi.