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BANGALORE, June 6

LAND preparation for Karnataka's kharif season is in progress, according to the Agriculture Commissioner, Dr S. Subramanya.

Sowing of early crops like jowar, sesamum, paddy, maize, toor, cowpea, cotton has started. However, failure of rains in April is likely to cause a decrease in area under cotton and jowar in parts of Mysore and Chamrajnagar, he said.

The State's target for foodgrain production for the year has been set at 104.45 lakh tonnes (96 lakh tonnes of cereals and 8.05 lakh tonnes of pulses). Production targets of oilseed, sugarcane, tobacco and cotton are 17.9 lakh tonnes, 342.40 lakh tonnes, 0.56 lakh tonnes and 10.24 lakh tonnes respectively.

There was no shortage of inputs, both fertilisers and seeds, he said. There may be some distribution problems in some areas, but these would be addressed as soon as they are brought to the notice of the Department, he said. Groundnut seeds, which were a problem, are also available now, he said.

In Periyapatna, there was a perceived shortage of calcium ammonium nitrate, but this was because a new variety of tobacco sown there required double the quantity of fertilisers, he said. Inputs provided are also of very high quality, which in turn increases productivity every year, he said. Seeds are sampled, both from private companies and Government seed agencies, and 98 per cent of them were certified, he said. The unorganised market was more likely to provide sub-standard seeds, Dr Subramanya said. Karnataka has filed 151 criminal cases against seed distributors for supplying spurious and substandard seeds. Charge sheets have been filed over the last 18 months and cases are in various stages of progress, Dr Subramanya said.

Pesticide use decreasing: Karnataka has been showing a peculiar trend compared to the rest of the country in pesticide consumption. Pesticide consumption in the State has been on a decline, while it is increasing everywhere else, Dr Subramanya said.

Five years ago, 4,600 tonnes of pesticide was used and this came down to 2,800 tonnes last year. Predictions for the current year are around 2,100 tonnes.

"This is because all broadband spectrum pesticides have been prohibited from use. The State Government is very strictly enforcing this,'' he said. The State is taking a large number of steps to reduce pesticide use, including encouraging integrated pest management, he said.

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