Bengaluru, July 6 (TIWN) There seems no impact of Covid-19 on kharif crop sowing in Karnataka with the current year actually being ahead of previous years, according to an official here on Monday.

"In agriculture, as far as sowing is concerned, there is no impact of Covid-19," Agriculture Commissioner Brijesh Kumar Dikshit told IANS. One of the reasons, according to Dikshit, is that people in rural areas are aware, but not scared of the pandemic.  "In rural India, coronavirus is there. People are aware, not scared. They are taking precautions, but don''t have any phobia," he said.  Another reason was that by June the number of infections in Karnataka was not as high as other states, when a lot of sowing was done, he said.  By the end of June, Karnataka saw 15,242 Covid-19 cases. Of that, 7,074 were active.  The sowing is ahead of previous year as it''s mostly dependent on weather. "It''s ahead of previous years. Agriculture is directed by weather and rains had been slightly earlier this year," he said.