Following a good spell of rains, the cotton bowls of Maharashtra; Vidarbha and Marathwada are in for a bounty cotton crop in the new cotton season. Cotton area under cultivation has jumped by over 500,000 hectares and projections made by experts point a record yield in the new season.
Speaking to fibre2fashion, Mr NP Hirani, Chairman of Maharashtra State Cooperative Cotton Growers Marketing Federation Ltd., said "Yes that's true. Maharashtra may have bumper kharif cotton crop. The main reason being that cotton acreage area has jumped from 3.5 million hectares last year, to more than 4.0 million hectares this year”.
He further informed, “The second reason is that, there is 16 percent more sowing of cotton crop in Maharashtra. When looking at the overall production of cotton in India, while the cotton output stood at 32.5 million bales in the previous season, this season it is projected to cross a record 40 million bales.”
He added by saying, “In Maharashtra, the production was about 350 lakh quintals (1 quintal=100 kilograms) last year and this year prediction is for more than 425 lakh quintals. Reasons are timely monsoon and practically sowing of BT cotton seeds over most of the areas which are of high quality and yield”.
“The production per hectare will be higher as yield is expected to be more this year. Last year yield was 8 quintal per hectare, but this year expectations are for 10 quintal per hectare as per estimates made in the first week of August. Picture will be clearer by the end of August as the cotton crop requires light rains and not heavy rains”, he concluded by saying.
Fibre2fashion News Desk - India
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