BHAWANIPATNA: Poor rainfall has delayed cotton cultivation in Kalahandi, one of the major cotton growing districts in the State. Sowing of cotton seeds has belatedly started in the district for the kharif season and the crop will be grown in 55,000 hectares (ha) of land. Last year, cotton was grown in 54,767 ha during kharif.
Subject Matter Specialist (Cotton), Narayan Upadhaya said by this time last year, sowing of cotton was completed in more than 35,000 ha but this year, only 10,000 ha have been covered under the crop so far. Farmers are waiting for rain to complete sowing, he said. Last year, 6.4 lakh quintals of cotton was produced in the district which provided `260 crores to the farmers.
In the current year, the Agriculture Department hopes to exceed the target as far as cotton cultivation is concerned, Upadhaya said.