Cotton acreage to rise 15% in Punjab, Haryana

Ahmedabad: Farmers with irrigated fields of Punjab and Haryana, will start planting cotton in a fortnight. Agriculture Department officials estimated an increase of 10% to 15% of acreage in cotton this season has become more lucrative than rice, basmati and vegetables.
Government rice procurement agency and basmati exporters do not think that the production of the staple will be a success.
"We estimate that the area under cultivation throughout the country to increase by 15% and prices to see a correction in the new season," said Cotton Association of India president Dhiren Sheth.
According to revised estimates by the Cotton Advisory Board on 26 February this year for the cotton season 2010-11, surface was 111.61 lakh hectares with an average yield of 475.23 kg per hectare and production of 312 lakh bales.
With the wheat harvest will begin in two weeks through Punjab and Haryana, farmers are preparing to plant cotton. In the major cotton producing states of Gujarat and Maharashtra, planting will begin after the rainy season.
"We are aiming to increase cotton acreage by 50,000 to 60,000 hectares this year, covering 5.5 to 5.6 lakh hectares. The government has been working to shift the cropping pattern of rice to cotton, depleting the water table," said Punjab director, Tarsem Singh joint agriculture. The production figures are expected to be at least 25 lakh bales (one bale = 170 kg) compared to 20 lakh bales in 2010.
In Haryana too, the cotton area is directed to play six lakh hectares from 4.92 lakh hectares in the previous year, according to the director of agriculture for additional Haryana BS Duggal. Production is expected to be 20 lakh bales as compared to 17.44 lakh bales in 2010-11.
In Maharashtra, the area is expected to increase by 10% this year. Sowing was done in 40 lakh hectares in 2010, of which irrigated farms accounted for only 2% to 3%. "The summer cotton area may rise by 10% due to the levels of good water quality in reservoirs and wells," said the director of Maharashtra, agriculture (extension) Jayant Deshmukh.
However, cotton acreage in Gujarat is not expected to see a significant increase. "Farmers have to spend more, while planting of cotton from seed to fertilizer. Therefore we do not see an exponential increase in the surface," said the chief secretary of Gujarat, agriculture, RK Tripathi while adds that the planting will begin the third week of May in more than 26 lakh hectare after pre-monsoon rains.
Surinder Ahuja, a farmer of 71 years who has been planting Bt cotton on 50 acres in Hisar, and 10 acres in Fazilka, Punjab, from the last four years, will increase plantings this year by 25 %.
"In the next 15 days, after wheat is harvested, the cotton planting will begin. Yields were very good and we hope that the time is still predictable," he said, adding that the main concern was the acquisition of seed were scarce. Rue farmers that seed prices could rise even more than the previous year.