JK: Rice production likely to be 5 lakh tonnes

Srinagar, Sep 20: The Kashmir division is likely to achieve production target of 5 lakh tonnes of rice this Kharif season, while the production of maize, pulse-wheat and other crops is expected to be 1.95 lakh tonnes.

The production of these crops in the Valley during last Kharif was 6.74 lakh tonnes, of which rice accounted for 4.95 lakh tonnes and maize 1.45 lakh tonnes, an official spokesman said today.

He said an area of over 2.87 lakh hectares was covered under Kharif crops in the Valley this year, of which paddy was sown on 1.60 lakh hectares and maize on one lakh hectares.

In order to ensure increase in the production, as many as 5,000 quintals of high yielding and hybrid seed varieties of paddy and 711 quintals of maize had been supplied to the farmers for cultivation during the Kharif 2008.

UNI