Farmers in the country have sown urad across 3.5 mln ha so far this kharif season down 12.0% from a year ago. In Madhya Pradesh, the largest grower of urad, the acreage was down 15.2% on year at 1.46 mln ha as farmers have shifted to paddy. This year, rainfall has been good and prices of paddy are attractive. There was loss of urad crop last year due to wilt disease, which also made farmers cautious about the crop this year.