Sales of key fertilizers such as urea, DAP, MOP and complex declined in July, when maximum planting of kharif crops takes place, fuelling apprehensions of a likely drop in production. The total area under kharif crops has been reported lower this year, though the deficit has shrunk to less than 2 per cent currently. While some experts attribute the lower sales to less area coverage in the current kharif sowing season, the erratic rainfall is another factor that could have influenced the decision of farmers on fertilizer usage. Most crops acreage trailsThe sowing area under all major Kharif crops except urad, soyabean and groundnut is trailing this year. The sowing area in on-going season has reached 967.92 lakh hectares (lh) as of August 7 compared with 985.89 lh in the year-ago period, down by 1.8 per cent.