Adequate stocks of urea available: JC

Kurnool: Joint Collector Dr B Navya has assured that there was an adequate supply of urea available in the district and farmers need not worry about its availability.

Addressing the media on Thursday, she pointed out that the kharif season‘s normal rainfall average in the district is 401.1 mm, and so far, 141.3 mm has been recorded. The total cultivable area for the 2025 kharif season stands at 4,22,540 hectares. Major crops such as cotton, groundnut, red gram, maize, paddy, green gram, onion, and chili are currently being cultivated, with crops already sown across 2,19,875 hectares. Cotton alone accounts for 1,63,792 hectares of the total sown area.

As of July 23, 2025, the district has 1,930 metric tonnes of urea in stock. The breakup includes 491.4 metric tonnes with AP Markfed, 399.67 metric tonnes at Rythu Seva Kendras, 984 metric tonnes with retailers, and 54.535 metric tonnes available through cooperative societies and marketing federations. These stocks are deemed sufficient to meet the immediate requirements of the farming community.

For the 2024-25 season up to July, 38,662 metric tonnes of urea has been supplied, with 17,529 metric tonnes utilised by farmers. For the 2025-26 season, a total requirement of 18,845 metric tonnes has been projected, out of which 32,154 metric tonnes - including previous stocks - have already been made available. An additional 2,187.39 metric tonnes is expected to arrive within the next 4 to 5 days, ensuring uninterrupted availability during the peak cultivation period.

Dr. Navya also advised that for one hectare (2.5 acres) of cotton, approximately 150 kg of nitrogen - equivalent to 6 bags of urea - is sufficient. She cautioned farmers against overuse, as excess application could lead to increased pest attacks, particularly from sap-sucking insects, which in turn could harm crop yields.