New Delhi: Kharif sowing has staged a sharp recovery after improved rainfall in July, but total acreage remains below last year’s level, with the shortfall concentrated in coarse cereals, rice and pulses even as weather experts and economists warn that crop yields, not acreage, will determine the eventual harvest amid strengthening El Nino conditions. As of July 24, farmers had sown 82.62 million hectares under kharif crops, down 4.9% from the corresponding period last year, according to the agriculture ministry’s latest sowing data. Rice, the country’s biggest monsoon crop, was sown over 23.44 million hectares, 2.6% lower than a year ago. Pulse acreage stood at 8.46 million hectares, down 7.6%, while coarse cereals recorded the sharpest decline, with sowing at 14.22 million hectares, down 11.9% from last year. Oilseed sowing reached 16.35 million hectares, 2.1% lower year-on-year, while cotton acreage was down 3.9% at 9.87 million hectares.