New Delhi, July 27 -- Kharif sowing continued to trail last year's pace, with farmers planting crops across 78.7 million hectares as of 24 July, compared with 82.6 million hectares during the same period a year earlier, according to agriculture ministry data.

Acreage of key kharif crops, including paddy, pulses, oilseeds and cotton, remained below last year's levels, although the overall sowing gap has narrowed in recent weeks as monsoon rainfall improved across several regions.

Among major crops, paddy acreage stood at 23.4 million hectares, down by 619,000 hectares from a year ago. Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Odisha, Haryana, Gujarat, West Bengal, Chhattisgarh, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, and Telangana lagged in sowing area. Assam, Bihar,...