Cotton farmers switch over to chilli in Khammam

As the chilli crop area increased the extent of cotton area decreased as price offered to cotton in previous was not on expected lines.

Khammam: Irregular rainfall and increasing demand for chilli the extent of the crop grown in the district has increased in the vanakalam season.

As the chilli crop area increased the extent of cotton area decreased as price offered to cotton in previous was not on expected lines. According to officials cotton is mainly dependent on rains. In this vanakalam when the sowing season started the rainfall was not as expected.

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It led many farmers to switch over to chilli. Normal area under cotton cultivation in the district was 2, 28, 011 acres. Previous year cotton was sown in 2, 20, 202 acres but in the current year the crop has been sown in 1, 83, 266 acres.

Normal area under chilli cultivation in the district was 57, 000 acres. In this season chilli has been sown in about 80, 000 acres, informed the district Horticulture Officer Anasuya. It might be noted that Teja variety chilli fetched over Rs 25,000 per quintal in last season.

Meanwhile, the area under paddy cultivation also came down this year. Last year paddy was cultivated in 2, 82, 387 acres. This year by Sep 20 paddy has been sown in 2, 63, 820 acres.

Likewise, the area under cultivation in the district also came down this year. Total normal cultivated area is said to be 5, 65, 824 acres.

Area under cultivation in previous year was 5, 73, 536 while by Sep 20 total area under cultivation was 4, 66, 323 acres which is 86.33 percent of the normal cultivated area.