Mustard production can be raised in the country by expanding areas in non-conventional states like Chhattisgarh, where the productivity can be raised by 70 per cent due to very low yield now, and also a lot of rice fallow land which left unsown in winter can be tapped with suitable planning.
Sharing his views on the potential of mustard crop in Chhattisgarh, P K Rai, former Director of ICAR’s Indian Institute of Rapeseed-Mustard Research, told businessline that transforming the rice fallows into productive farmland by adopting the rapeseed-mustard cultivation offers a remarkable opportunity to enhance farm income, improve cropping intensity, strengthen edible oil security, and promote sustainable agriculture.
Rai, who is currently the Director of ICAR’s Raipur-based National Institute of Biotic Stress Management (NIBSM), said Chhattisgarh has a total cultivated area of 4.78 million hectares (mh), out of which the net irrigated area is 23 per cent. Paddy crop is grown in about 3.9 mh, mostly under rainfed conditions, across uplands and shallow lowlands.
Scope for raising yield
Pointing out that nearly half of the rice area remains fallow in rabi season, it throws a a huge opportunity for mustard crop. Asked why farmers leave the field unsown, he said only about 32 per cent of paddy area is irrigated. “There are several factors like rapid soil moisture loss after monsoon, waterlogging in lowland (tal) areas, late harvesting due to prefernce for long-duration paddy varieties, fear of damage by stray cattle and limited technical awareness,” he said.
He also said the current area under rapeseed-mustard in Chhattisgarh is very low — about 31,000 hectares with a production of 17,260 tonnes. There is scope to raise mustard productivity to 11-12 quintal per hectare from current 5-6 quintal per hectare, he said adding the national average of yield was 14.63 quintal per hectare in 2024-25.
Asked why mustard only in winter, Rai said it is a highly suitable crop among all rabi crops for rice fallow systems due to its adaptability, low water requirement, and short duration.
“Mustard can grow successfully with limited irrigation or even without irrigation under suitable moisture conditions. Most varieties mature within 90–120 days, fitting well between rice harvest and before summer onset in the state. Besides, mustard can tolerate moderate drought and temperature variability,” he said.
Encouraging results
He said that the sowing window from mid-November to first week of December coincides with cool and congenial winter temperatures ranging in the range of 25-30 degree celsius, is idea for growth and development of mustard including toria. He also added that there is also a possibility of mixed-cropping with gram (chana).
“Multi-location field evaluations conducted by NIBSM during last three years, show encouraging results for the variety DRMR-150-35, which exhibited early maturity 95–110 days, making it highly suitable after rice harvest,” he said. Further, no incidence of key pests and diseases was observed except aphids, indicating its strong adaptability for biotic stress tolerance, he added.
India’s mustard production in 2024-25 had dropped to 12.67 million tonnes from 13.26 mt due to a fall in acreage. This year, there is marginal improvement in area 8.94 mh from 8.66 mh in 2024-25.
Published on February 12, 2026
