Wheat yield affected by rising temperature, says PAU expert
LUDHIANA: The sudden rise in the temperature during the first and second week of March has affected the yield of wheat crop in Punjab this year, an agricultural expert has said, underlining that the phenomenon is not new as inclement weather has been leading to a dip in harvest over the past few years.
The observations were made by Dr Virinder Singh Sohu, head of department of plant breeding and genetics at Punjab Agricultural University, Ludhiana, amid concerns expressed by farmers about the low yield of wheat crop after the harvest began to arrive at grain markets across the state.
Early trends of wheat arrival have shown a dip of two quintals per acre of crop yield, Sohu said, adding that this year, the sudden rise in the temperature during the first and second week of Mach has affected the crop yield.
During the second week of March, the maximum temperature had crossed over 35 degrees Celsius, while the minimum temperature had jumped to 25 degrees Celsius.
“Those farmers, who had irrigated their fields on time and
maintained the moisture level, managed to protect their crop. However, the condition of the soil also played an important role in it,” Sohu said. He said that inclement weather was leading to a dip in harvest over the past few years and loss in the yield may vary as per the terrain.
“This phenomenon is not new. In the past few years also, we have seen lodging of crops due to unexpected rain and thunderstorms in March or in early April, which had led to a dip in the yield of crops,” said Sohu.
Farm union demands compensation
Bharatiya Kisan Union (BKU) leaders are demanding Rs 10,000 compensation per acre for the drop in yield from the government.
Harinder Singh Lakhowal, general secretary of BKU Lakhowal, said that they had sent a letter to the Punjab government, demanding compensation of Rs 10,000 per acre for the farmers.
“The farmers arriving at Machhiwara grain market are complaining that the yield has been affected by five to seven per cent.
“Ideally, 22 quintals of grains are produced on one acre of land, but this year the yield has been reduced to 17-18 quintals per acre. This has caused heavy losses as the farmers could not even meet the expenses incurred on fuel and labour,” said Lakhowal.