NEW DELHI, June 4: The early arrival of the monsoon coupled with the forecast of another normal monsoon this year augurs well for the kharif crop which accounts for bulk of the country's annual output of rice, millets, pulses and oilseeds.Good pre-monsoon showers in the northeastern states and Kerala during May have helped early completion of the paddy sowing. According to National Crop Forecasting Centre of the Union agriculture ministry, better ground availability of seeds and fertilisers this time should really give a fillip to the khrif prospects.
The monsoon arrived almost a week ahead of June 1 deadline over Kerala and soon branched out into the northeast and the Konkan coast-peninsular states. A net increase is also noted in the area sown under sugarcane. By May-end, sugarcane planting was complete in 3.85 million hectares, compared to 3.70 million hectares on the corresponding day last year. Because of the good pre-monsoon and early monsoon rains, the sugarcane crop this year is expected to be bigger.
The India Meteorological Department has forecast that the country would have its 11th successive `normal monsoon' this year. The `normal monsoon' indicates that the overall rainfall during the June-September period would have a ten per cent up or down variation in its long period average. Quantitatively, this year the monsoon rainfall is indicated to be about 108 per cent of its long period average.
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