Rain, strong wind a worry for Punjab wheat farmers

With more rain forecast until Monday, farmers are concerned over the crop, which needs a clear sky with temperature within 35-36 degrees Celsius at this final stage of grain-filling until the month-end. The crop would fully ripen and dry, to be ready for harvesting, by the second week of April

Districts that have received high rainfall from late-Thursday include Patiala (30.5 mm), Ludhiana (28.6 mm), Nawanshahr (21.1mm), Kapurthala (20.8 mm), Barnala (19.7 mm), Sangrur (17.3mm), and Fatehgarh Sahib (13.8 mm). Seven other districts have also received more than 10 mm rain.

According to reports received by Punjab’s Agriculture department, wheat crop has suffered lodging in roughly 60,000 hectares area across Ludhiana and Sangrur. Gurdaspur and Bathinda have, likewise, reported lodging of the crop in over 20,000 hectares each, followed by Barnala (16,000 hectares) and Moga (10,000 hectares).

Lodging has also been reported from around half-a-dozen districts on 1,000 to 3,000 hectares each. “We are still collecting information from all districts,” an official said.

The Punjab Agriculture University in Ludhiana had, on March 16, issued an advisory to farmers not to irrigate their crop in view of rain along with thunderstorms/hailstorms forecast on account of a Western Disturbance system.

The wheat crop that is in the stage of grain development and filling is vulnerable to lodging. Plants that are heavy with grains cannot withstand strong winds and are prone to bending from near the roots. The lodged crop would also not be able to take nutrients from the soil. The moisture in the grain can also lead to luster loss and fungal infections, a PAU expert said.

“Rain by itself is not bad, if it helps bring down the temperature. But it is not good if they also bring in wind. If the showers subside by the weekend and we have sunshine from next week, even the crop that has lodged can recover,” Agriculture Department director Gurvinder Singh told The Sunday Express.