NATIONAL CONFERENCE ON AGRICULTURE FOR KHARIF CAMPAIGN 2016 RABI REVIEW AND KHARIF PROSPECTS Dr. S K Malhotra Agriculture Commissioner Department of Agriculture, Cooperation & Farmers Welfare, Ministry of Agriculture & Farmers Welfare

AREA AND PRODUCTION OF RABI CROPS IN Name of CropsArea (Million Ha.)Production (Million Tonnes) change *change Wheat Rice (Rabi) Sorghum ( Rabi) Maize ( Rabi) Barley Total Rabi coarse cereals Gram Total Rabi Pulses Total food grains Groundnut Rapeseed &Mustard Total Rabi Oilseeds Total * IInd advance estimate

RAINFALL IN RABI SEASON (MM) METEOROLOGICAL SUBDIVISIONS to to ACTUALNORMAL% DEP.ACTUALNORMAL% DEP. EAST & NORTH EAST INDIA NORTH WEST INDIA CENTRAL INDIA SOUTH PENINSULA COUNTRY AS A WHOLE

WEATHER SCENERIO DURING RABI  Due to moisture stress, less area was covered under wheat, rabi rice and oilseeds while under coarse cereals and pulses it remained same.  Temperature during February and March has been very conducive for crop growth.  Hailstorm and heavy rains in many places across many states has affected crops on a limited scale

PLANNING FOR KHARIF 2016  Forecast of India Metrological Department by 3 rd week of April 2016  Plan for all the possible scenarios to be kept ready Delayed onset Prolonged dry spells Early withdrawal, Less rainfall Excess rainfall  Contingency plans for 600 districts of 27 States except Mizoram & Goa ready

CURRENT SCENARIO ON MONSOON  The El-Nino condition-main reason for deficient monsoon 2015  El-Nino is showing signs of weakening for last 1-2 months and condition expected to weaken further & may become neutral by May-June 2016  Possibility of development of La-Nina conditions during 2 nd half of the monsoon season (August-September)  This situation is considered as favorable for good monsoon rainfall, although condition of other parameters is also important

EXPECTATIONS Timely placement of inputs  Arrangement for seeds, fertilizers, nutrients, Plant Protection chemicals, funds for various schemes  Coordination meeting with line departments (credit, power, irrigation)  Preparation for timely crop insurance cover  Weekly video conferencing for reviewing crop situation, input availability and follow up Mobilizing extension staff for field deployment  Pooling contractual staff under ATMA, NFSM and other schemes Active involvement of SAUs/KVKs  Technical backstopping cluster demonstration and capacity building  Timely implementation of schemes  Effective monitoring and feed back

NEW INITIATIVES FOR PULSES UNDER NFSM  Creation of 150 seed hubs at KVKs and SAUs in three years  Enhancement of breeder seed production at ICAR and SAUs.  Distribution of seed mini kits of pulses  Subsidy for production of quality seed  Bio-fertilizer and bio-control agent units at SAUs  Technology demonstrations through KVKs at farmer’s field

WE NEED TO PROMOTE  Summer moong  Pulses as intercrop with other crops like Soybean, Cotton, Sugarcane etc.  Arhar on rice bunds  Transplanted Arhar  Hybrid Arhar  Ridge Furrow and Broad Bed Furrow  Minor pulses (cowpea, mothbean, horse gram, faba bean, lathyrus and rajmash)

INTEGRATED CROP MANAGEMENT IN PULSES  Seed treatment, inoculation with Rhizobium and PSB culture  Application of recommended dose of fertilizers  Amelioration of acidic soils with lime/ liming material  Micro-nutrients as per requirement  Gypsum as source of sulphur  Weed management with recommended chemicals  Pest surveillance and integrated pest management (bio-pesticides and mechanical devices)

RICE  Mechanical/Line Transplanting o Direct seeded Rice (DSR) o Drum seeder for wet bed  System of Rice Intensification(SRI)  Promoting hybrids  Stress tolerant varieties o Stress tolerant varieties for submergence, drought/low rainfall areas, saline areas  Nutrient and pest management

KHARIF OILSEEDS  Intercrop with pulses/cotton/coarse cereals  Use of Broad Bed Furrow and Ridge Furrow techniques for effective moisture stress / excess water management.  Improved varieties of soybean, groundnut, sesame and hybrid of castor and sunflower  Seed treatment with rhizobium (soybean/groundnut), Azospirillum /Azotobactor (sesame) and PSB culture (sunflower).  Replacement of upland / low yielding paddy area with oilseeds / maize / pulses  Introduction of soybean in non-traditional areas – Bihar, Jharkhand and Odisha

SOYBEAN Last year there was large scale damage to soybean in MP due to white fly, YMV & deficient rainfall, strategies to counter it are: Use of YMV resistant variety of soybean, like JS 20-29, JS 97-52, PS-1225 and PS-1029 Management of white fly Use of BBF and Ridge & Furrow system for management of moisture stress, drainage Crop rotation and intercropping Reduce seed rate to optimum levels

COTTON Last year there was large scale damage to cotton crop in Punjab and Haryana; strategies to counter it are: o Timely sowing (upto 15 th May) o Monitoring of white fly and other pests o Sowing only tolerant varieties/hybrids o Application of recommended dose of fertilizer, avoid excessive urea application o Use of recommended pesticides with proper application technique

REQUIREMENT & AVAILABILITY OF SEEDS FOR KHARIF CROPS 2016 (Quintals) S.NCrops GroupCropRequirementAvailabilitySurplus/Deficit 1CerealsPaddy Bajra Jowar Maize PulsesArhar Urd Moong Cowpea Moth Peas OilseedsGroundnut Soybean Sunflower Sesame Commercial CropsCotton Jute

Fertilizers KHARIF: 2015KHARIF: 2016 Assessed requirement Total salesAssessed requirement Urea DAP MOP NPK SSP Use of Bio-fertilizers, Neem Coated urea Use of Micro-nutrients: Source: INM & FMS, DAC, GOI REQUIREMENT & AVAILABILITY OF FERTILIZERS FOR KHARIF: 2016 (Lakh Tonnes)