1. J S SANDHU Agriculture Commissioner Department of Agriculture & Cooperation, Ministry of Agriculture NATIONAL CONFERENCE ON AGRICULTURE FOR KHARIF CAMPAIGN 2015 RABI REVIEW AND KHARIF PROSPECTS

2. AREA AND PRODUCTION OF RABI CROPS DURING 2013-14 & 2014-15 NAME OF CROPS Area (Million Ha.)Production (Million Tons) 2013-142014-15change2013-142014-15change Wheat 30.4730.32-0.1595.85 95.76 -0.09 Rice (Rabi) 4.694.17-0.5215.15 13.49 -1.66 Sorghum ( Rabi) 3.523.10-0.423.15 2.83 -0.32 Maize ( Rabi) 1.761.56-0.207.11 6.51 -0.60 Barley 0.670.710.041.83 1.77 -0.06 Total Rabi coarse cereals 5.955.37-0.5812.09 11.1 -0.99 Gram 9.938.36-1.579.53 8.28 -1.25 Urad 0.720.790.070.55 0.45 -0.10 Moong 1.041.080.040.65 0.53 -0.12 Total Rabi Pulses 14.8813.68-1.2013.79 12.92 -0.87 Total food grains 55.9953.53-2.46136.88 133.28 -3.60 Groundnut 0.860.900.041.66 1.82 0.16 Rapeseed &Mustard 6.656.20-0.457.88 7.36 -0.52 Total Rabi Oilseeds 8.407.93-0.4710.14 9.73 -0.41 Total64.3961.46 (98.5%)-2.93147.02143.01-4.01 Normal area: 62.42 million ha.

3. WEATHER SCENERIO DURING 2014-15 RABI SEASON 2014-15  Delayed monsoon forced late kharif sowing vis-a-vis late harvesting consequently delayed rabi sowing.  Moisture stress-less area coverage under oilseeds and pulses  Hailstorm/strong winds and heavy rains in many places across most of the states has affected crops.  Heavy damages in UP, Rajasthan, Haryana,  Excessive rains in 421 (69%) districts out of 641 Districts ( March 1, 2015 to April 1, 2015)  New initiatives for increasing area under summer crops ( pulses, oilseeds ) with additional funding.

4. UNSEASONAL RAINFALL IN MARCH 2015 (mm) Zone March ( 1-26),2015March (1-26), 2014 ActualNormal% DepartureActual Country as a whole 50.024.4105%24.8 North-West India102.040.2154%59.4 Central India33.27.3355%21.1 South Peninsula20.98.9135%20.0 East & North-East India 21.348.3-56%33.3

5. PRODUCTION TARGET AND ESTIMATE OF 2014-15 NAME OF CROPS Target (MT)Estimate (MT) KharifRabiTotalKharifRabiTotal Rice92.0014.00106.0089.5513.49103.04 Wheat94.00 -95.76 Coarse cereals31.2510.2541.5028.7311.1039.83 Total Pulses7.0012.5019.505.5012.9318.43 Total Foodgrains 130.25130.75261.00123.78133.28257.07 Total oilseeds21.8311.1733.0020.109.7329.83 Cotton (Bales)*35.00- 35.15- Jute & Mesta (Bales)** 11.20- 11.47- Sugarcane (Cane)34.50- 35.50- * Cotton-Lakh bales of 170 kg each ** Jute & Mesta-Lakh bales of 180 kg each Based on 2 nd estimate of DES for 2014-15

6. Planning for Kharif 2015 Likely Monsoon scenarios Forecast of India Metrological Department by April 2015 Plan for all the possible scenarios to be kept ready – Delayed onset – Prolonged dry spells-Early withdrawal – Less rainfall & Excessive rainfall Less South –West Monsoon rains in NE Region (for last seven years) Contingency plans for 580 districts of 25 states ready Raising of community nursery of rice Promotion of custom hiring centres Advance procurement of seed of short duration/stress tolerant varieties

7. Strategies Timely placement of inputs seeds, fertilizers, nutrients, Plant Protection chemicals, Coordination meeting with department of food & civil supply, credit, power, irrigation Weekly video conferencing for reviewing crop situation, input availability and follow up Mobilizing extension staff for field deployment Active involvement of SAUs/KVKs Technical backstopping, cluster demonstration and capacity building Effective monitoring and feed back

8. SUMMER MOONG Summer moong - Bihar, Haryana, Punjab, UP and MP Short duration varieties – SML -668, SAMRAT, IPM 02- 01, Pusa Vishal etc. –mature in 60-65 days Seed treatment, inoculation with Rhizobium and PSB culture Weed Management Control of pests (thrips) life saving Irrigations Additional funds -to expand area under summer pulses Intercrop with sugarcane Intercrop with Sugarcane

9. Rice Mechanical/Line Transplanting – Direct seeded Rice (DSR) Drum seeder for wet bed Seed drill for dry bed Weed management Promote hybrids and stress tolerant Varieties in eastern India – Swarna-sub-1/Samba Sub 1 for flash floods – Sahbhagi dhan/IR 64 Dart for drought/low rainfall areas – CSR -43/CR Dhan 406 for saline areas Nutrient and pest Management Technical back stopping

10. KHARIF PULSES Improved varieties/Planting Methods – Ridge/furrow /BBF method – Improved varieties of Pigeonpea/Urd/Mung/Moth/Cowpea Area Expansion – Intercropping – Planting on rice bunds – NFSM-pulses extended to NE states and hill states Integrated crop management – Seed treatment, inoculation with Rhizobium and PSB culture – Amelioration of acidic soils with lime/ liming material – Weed management with recommended chemicals – Pest surveillance and integrated pest management (bio- pesticides and mechanical devices)

11. KHARIF OILSEEDS Improved varieties/Planting Methods – Planting of crops following Ridge-furrow /BBF methods – Paired row planting – Improved varieties of groundnut/sesame /soybea/castor Area expansion – intercrop soybean with tur and groundnut Integrated crop management – Seed treatment with rhizobium (groundnut and soybean), Azospirillum and Azotobacter ( sesame, sunflower and safflower) and PSB culture – Optimum sowing time, Seed rate and fertilizer use – Weed management with application of recommended agro-chemicals, bio-agents and bio-pesticides

12. COARSE CEREALS Maize - Single cross maize hybrids Popularization of Quality Protein Maize (QPM). Promotion of Pearl Millet hybrids - Gujarat, Rajasthan, UP and Maharashtra. Promotion and timely seed availability of improved varieties of small millets. Inclusion of all districts of NE states under NFSM-coarse cereals.

13. Promotion of nutri rich hybrids of Coarse Cereals Promote hybrids of sorghum and bajra which are rich in Zn and Fe. Area under sorghum hybrids rich in Zn and Fe is expanding in Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh. Area under nutri rich hybrids of Bajra also need to be increased. Hybrids of QPM becoming popular in Andhra Pradesh and Bihar. Other state should also to promote these hybrids.

14. Soybean Seed treatment – -Rhizobium, PSB &Fungicide Planting of soybean -BBF and ridge-furrow system Balanced use of nutrients - 20:60:40:20 kg N:P 2 O 5 :K 2 O:S/ha. Weed management Intercropping -pigeon pea, maize and other kharif crops. Broad Bed Furrow Method Weeding

15. Groundnut  Use of improved varieties for higher productivity  Adoption of region specific IPM practices  Adoption of intercropping (pigeonpea, castor, sesame, peal millet etc.)  Use of bio-control agents (Trichoderma and Pseudomonas) and bio- fertilizers  Use of micro-irrigation systems Inter-cropping Broad Bed Ridge Method

16. REQUIREMENT & AVAILABILITY of SEEDS KHARIF CROPS 2015 (in Lakh Qtls) Crop Requiremen t AvailabilityDeficit/Surplus PADDY64.2673.80+9.54 TOTAL PULSES 7.197.50+0.31 TOTAL CEREALS 77.0288.16+11.14 TOTAL OILSEEDS 49.2142.10-7.11

17. REQUIREMENT & AVAILABILITY OF FERTILIZERS for KHARIF: 2015 (Lakh Tonnes) Fertilizers KHARIF: 2014KHARIF: 2015 Assessed requirement Total salesAssessed requirement Urea152.80139.96157.93 DAP48.4236.4750.93 MOP14.8514.1118.31 NPK49.5938.9352.73 SSP34.9219.4933.11 Enhanced Use of Bio-fertilizers –Rhizobium PSB, KSB etc can reduce the NPK dose by 25%, Use of Micro-nutrients – ( Deficiency – Sulphur 46%, Zn 49%, B 33 %, Mo 13%, Mn 5% & Cu 5% Source: INM & FMS, DAC, GOI

18. Thanks