Moong cultivated on 97,250 acres in Punjab

CHANDIGARH: On the assurance of Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann for providing a Minimum Support Price (MSP) on the moong crop, the state farmers resolutely responded by doubling the area under moong cultivation this year.

At present, it was cultivated over an area of nearly 97,250 acres (38900 hectares) as compared to 50,000 acres last year.

Notably, MSP for Moong is Rs. 7275 per quintal and this initiative will instrumental to supplement farmer’s income by sowing another crop between the wheat-paddy cycle.

As per data from the State Agriculture Department, Mansa district led the state in sowing Moong over 25,000 acres (10,000 hectares) i.e. 25 per cent of the total area sown under this crop in the state. This was followed by Moga 12,750 acres (5100 hectares) and Ludhiana 10,750 acres (4300 hectares). The area under Moong in Bathinda and Sri Muktsar Sahib districts is 9500 acres (3800 hectares) and 8750 acres (3500 hectares).

According to Director Agriculture Gurvinder Singh, the moong crop has nitrogen-fixing nodules in the root zone of pulse crop which improve the fertility of land by fixing nitrogen in the soil.

Even if the yield of the moong crop drops, the benefits of nitrogen fixation are available to the next crop. The consumption of urea for the next crop was reduced up to 25-30 kg per acre than the recommended dose.

It may be recalled that the

Chief Minister has already reiterated its government’s firm commitment to purchase every grain of their moong crop with a pre-condition that they will have to sow paddy 126 variety or basmati in the same field after harvesting moong as both these crops take far less time for maturity.

These crops also require much less water as compared to other varieties of paddy.