Challenge to increase cotton cultivation, sowing from 15th April
2026-04-14 11:59:59
The challenge is to increase the area of cotton in Sonipat, sowing will start from April 15
Increasing the continuously decreasing cotton area in Sonipat has become a big challenge for the Agriculture Department this time. Last year, cotton was cultivated in only 1200 acres in the district, which is much less than previous years. In such a situation, the department has formed special teams to make the farmers aware, which will go from village to village and provide information about the benefits of cotton cultivation and disease management.
According to the Agriculture Department, the appropriate time for sowing cotton in Kharif season is from 15th April to 15th May. Due to recent light rain and drizzle, there is sufficient moisture in the fields, which will reduce the need for initial irrigation and the conditions have become favorable for sowing.
The department has advised farmers to sow seeds only after seed treatment, so that the crop can be protected from early diseases and pests.
If we look at the data, the area under cotton is continuously decreasing—5400 acres in 2022, 4500 acres in 2023, 2700 acres in 2024 and dropped to only 1200 acres last year. There are many reasons behind this decline, including pink bollworm infestation, rain at the time of harvest, dependence on laborers and low prices in the market.
Farmers are now giving more priority to paddy cultivation, due to which the area under cotton is further shrinking.
According to Sub-Divisional Agriculture Officer Dr. Sandeep Verma, the department has prepared a special strategy to increase the area under cotton. Also, this time the weather is also considered favorable for cotton sowing, due to which better production is expected.
