WATER-LOGGING in northern India has caused massive decline in the area under cotton cultivation. The production of cotton in Punjab and Haryana has been the worst affected, said the North India Cotton Association. But the area under cotton in the Gangangar tracts in Rajasthan has not shrunk.
According to estimates, areas under cotton cultivation in Punjab had declined by 20-25 per cent this year to 5.50 lakh hectare (ha), while acreage in Haryana had slipped by 10-15 per cent to 5.70 ha.
In Ganganagar, about 4.9 lakh ha of land had been brought under cotton cultivation, the same as last year, NICA said. About cotton sowing, the East India Cotton Association said it had progressed smoothly with adequate release of water from north India canals facilitating crop growth.
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