State records 11% higher yield of wheat this year
AMRITSAR: Even as the area under wheat crop has decreased in Punjab, the state has recorded 11% higher yield in comparison to previous year and the highest production of crop in the past five years.
State agriculture director Jasbir Singh Bains said productivity of wheat has increased from 4,700 kg per hectare last year to 5,047 kg per hectare this year.
He said production of wheat has reached around 177 lakh metric tonne (MT) this year, which is the second best in the history of state. Notably, the highest production of 180 lakh MT was witnessed in the state in 2011-12. The combined production of wheat and paddy crops is highest ever at 303 lakh MT.
Bains, who was here to inspect the arrangements for implementation of various agriculture schemes, usage of machines and farming activities, said wheat crop was cultivated over 34,97,000 hectare this year which is less than previous year’s 35,12,000 hectare.
“While the area under wheat and paddy has decreased this year, record productivity of both the crops has been witnessed. This could be possible only due to crop residue management, control
over yellow rust management, timely sowing and irrigation, technology transfer and farmer-training camps,” he said.
Asked about major challenges ahead, the director said decreasing soil productivity, depletion of ground water, climate change and implementation of crop diversification are on the department’s radar.
He said they are guiding the farmers to use modern techniques and technology to conquer these challenges. He said ground water is depleting by 40 cm to 80 cm every year in the state and 110 of 146 states are over-exploited.
“To tackle this situation, we are going to appeal farmers not to transplant paddy before June 15 and basmati varieties before July 5, besides recommending them to cultivate the crop varieties which require less water,” he further informed.