Maharashtra

Maharashtra
The cultivated area (17.43 million ha) is about 80% of the total geographical area and the irrigated area is about 17% (2.94 million ha). With large dependence on rainfall, the cropping intensity is around 127%. The soils are shallow and deficient in nitrogen, phosphorus, zinc and sulphur. The important crops of the state are sugarcane, cotton, sorghum, pearlmillet, chickpea, soybean, sunflower and safflower. Suggested interventions for natural resource management for agriculture in the state are as follows:

� Watershed management including harvesting of rainwater for life saving/ protective irrigations

� Site-specific nutrient management on 0.1 million ha covering important crops (like soybean, chickpea) to produce additional 0.1 million tonnes of foodgrains/annum

Sorghum

It is being cultivated in Maharashtra both for grain and fodder during kharif (area 13.84 lakh ha) and rabi (area 30.17 lakh ha). Kharif sorghum is also becoming popular as poultry and animal feed. The percentage area under rabi sorghum (64 %) is more than kharif sorghum (36 %) area. Contrary to this, production and average yields of kharif sorghum are higher (more than 1 tonnes/ha) than the average yield in rabi (0.6 tonne/ha). In kharif cultivation, the major constraints are lower profit and non-competitiveness than cotton, sunflower, castor and pulses; grain mould susceptibility during the years of extended monsoon at grain maturity and susceptibility to stem-borer under dry weather condition, and inadequate availability of seeds of improved dual-purpose varieties and hybrids of sorghum in time at fair price. Suitable interventions are:

� Early planting to avoid shoot fly attack

� Cultivation of hybrids such as CSH 16, CSH 18, and CSH 21, and cultivars like CSH 14 and CSH 23

� Intercropping with medium duration pigeonpea or soybean

� Harvesting at physiological maturity and artificial drying to reduce grain mould

During rabi, drought and cold stress are the major problems along with low nutrient availability for which suitable interventions are:

� Planting in second fortnight of September for good yields and shootfly management

� Nutrient management

� Kharif soybean followed by rabi sorghum ideal when soil is deep

Chickpea

Chickpea is the second most important pulse crop in the state, occupying 10.88 lakh ha area with 7.13 lakh tonnes of production and 655 kg/ha yield. During the last three decades,