Aurangabad, June 17:
Due to torrential rains, sowing has stopped in many places. Eight days have passed since the Mrig Nakshatra began. But so far only 2.88 per cent kharif sowing has been done in Aurangabad, Jalna and Beed districts. Jalna district is leading in sowing with 6.11 per cent, Beed with 3 per cent and Aurangabad district with only 0.18 per cent sowing, according to the divisional joint director of agriculture. But there is a discrepancy between the actual sowing and statistics of the department of agriculture.
Heavy rains lashed during the Rohini Nakshatra in Marathwada. However, due to heavy rains in many places, the farmers completed the sowing. But as rains subdued, the farmers are now worried. However, 95 per cent of sowing has been delayed due to low rains. Due to delay in getting data from tehsil level, there is a difference between the actual figures and statistics of the agriculture department. Aurangabad, Beed and Jalna districts have an average Kharif sown area of 19.99 lakh hectares. This includes 1,324 hectares in Aurangabad, 34,893 hectares in Jalna and 21,273 hectares in Beed districts. According to the agriculture department, 88 per cent sowing has been completed. These include kharif maize, soybean, mug, tur, urad, groundnut, cotton, millet and other cereals. The area under cotton in the district is declining and soybean and maize are being given more preference by the farmers.