Acreage sown to guar seed in Rajasthan, India's biggest producer, may still trail 2010's record despite a fillip from rains last week, a state farm department official said on Friday, and heavy rains to come could hit crop growth. As on Tuesday, the area under guar seed planting in Rajasthan, which accounts for 80 percent of India's total output, stood at 2.608 million hectares - a jump of 210,000 hectares from August 16 but behind last year's three million hectares in total.
The sowing period this year, which normally ends mid-August, could extend by over a fortnight because rainfall in Rajasthan has arrived late in the June to September monsoon season. "Guar seed sowing has improved over the last week due to good rains in our state. The sowing operations have extended till at least the end of the month," said Madanlal Salodia, additional director at the state's farm department.
Sowing of guar seed, largely a rain-fed crop, usually commences from the beginning of June in irrigated areas, while farmers in non-irrigated areas begin from end-June. "Late and uneven distribution of rains in the state had affected guar sowing in the initial phase," Salodia said.
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