Wheat Production of India.

Evening Star, Issue 7177, 2 April 1887, Page 1 (Supplement)

Wheat Production of India.

The following “ First General Memorandum on the prospects of the Indian wheat crop for the season 1886-87 ” was issued by the Revenue and Agricultural Department of India, on January 17, 1887 The Government of India propose to issue only three memoranda in future, dealing with the wheat crop from time of sowing to time of reaping. The first memorandum, which is now issued, gives only a rough account of the state of the sowings; the second, which will bo published about the 16th March, will afford as accurate information as may then be procurable regarding the area, condition, and outturn of the crop; and the third and final memorandum, to be issued in the latter half of May, will contain revised and fuller information on these points. The first reports for the season of 1886-87 have now been received, and the following particulars regarding the condition and prospects of the winter sowings of wheat are published for general information. In the Punjab the area placed under wheat is estimated at 6,857,000 acres, or 2 per cent, below the area of last year. The October rains, which to a great extent regulate the earlier sowings, were confined to the districts near the hills, but during the last week of December a fair amount of rain fell generally throughout the province, and may perhaps result in an expansion of the area sown. The prospect of the crop at present is on the whole favorable, though more rain is reported to be needed in the Ambala, Ferozepore, Sialkot, and Peshawar districts. In the north-western provinces and Oudh the prospects up to the 30th November were very fair, and the sowings were coming up excellently, except in places where it had rained immediately after the seed had been put down. Later reports show that the fields are being irrigated, and they confirm the promise of a good crop. The area sown at the end of November was estimated in December to be about 4 per cent, in excess of last year’s area (5.240,300 acres). The prospects of the wheat crop in the central provinces at the end of December were very promising, especially in the Northern districts, but some damage may have been caused by recent cloudy weather. In four districts an increase in the area under wheat is expected, owing to the favorable rainfall before the sowings began. In Ohutteesgurh also more land has been taken up for the rabi, owing to the failure of the kharif. In the Bombay Presidency the season at the end of November was reported to be very favorable for wheat, and at that date the area sown was estimated to be, if anything, larger than the average in all parts of the presidency. In the early part of December there was some heavy rain in the Deccan and part of the Karnatak, but no actual damage to sowings was reported. Later information shows that at the end of December the young crops were coming up well, and that prospects were good. In Berar the area under wheat in the latter part of December was above the average, Which is 807,000 acres. The crops were a foot high, and generally in excellent condition, and there is every promise of a good average yield. In Central India, Bajputana, Hyderabad, and Mysore, the prospects and condition of the wheat crop, so far as can be gathered at present, are a’so favorable. The general condition of other food-grains and non-edible crops sown at this season appears to be good, and there is no reason at present to apprehend any diminution in the proportion of the wheat harvest available for exportation. The supposed normal wbeat area of each province is quoted below:— Punjab ... ... ... 7,000.000 North-western Province and Oudh 5,037,000 Central Provinces ... 4,000,000 Bombay (including Baroila) 1,883,000* Berar ... ... ... 803,000 Bengal (Behar) ... ... 850,000 Bajputana ... ... 2,500,000 Central India ... ... 2,500,000 Hyderabad ... ... 750,000 Mysore ... ... ... 20,000 Kashmir ... ... 500,000 Total 25,843,000 ’lnclusive of Baroda, tut exclusive of the other native States 'under the political control of the Government of Bombay,