Delayed harvest holds up arrival

It rained heavily in winters and there were hailstorms too. “But it was favourable to our crops,” said Dr Mukhtiar Singh Bhullar, agriculture development officer, Muktsar. “The temperature remained cold and hence the grain ripened slowly. The weather is still pleasant even in April. So the grain ripened in mild sunlight in a slow and steady manner. And that is very good for the crop. The wheat grain is looking of a good size and I am sure the yield will increase.”

Dr Mangal Singh Sandhu, director for agriculture, too said the rains were very good for the wheat crop and the damage was insignificant. “The crops that had fallen due to heavy winds are once again standing to ripen, so there has not been much damage. Overall it was a good season for the wheat crop.”

In the previous year, 32.28 lakh hectares was under wheat in Punjab and as per the estimates of agriculture department, the area under wheat this year is 35 lakh hectares. The excessive rains caused initial damage on about 68,000 hectares in the Kandi and Malwa belts, but not more than 2 per cent of the wheat was damaged eventually, say agriculture experts. First the winter was delayed and then it rained in the winter, both events favouring the crop. In 2011-12, wheat production was 179.87 lakh metric tonnes; in 2012-13, it fell to 166.25 lakh tonnes. Going by the quality of the grain in the fields, agriculture experts are optimistic that Punjab will match the output of 2011-12.

Sales till now have been 5.36 lakh tonnes, 80 per cent less than the 26.75 lakh metric tonnes of the previous year. Out of this, only 0.36 lakh tonnes has been bought by private agencies with the rest by government agencies.

The minimum support price for this year is Rs 1,330 to Rs 1,415 per quintal and the crop has so far been sold in the range of Rs 1,400-1,415 per tonne.

Distressed farmers have also sold their produce with moisture at prices below the MSP to private agencies as the minimum price of sale was Rs 1,330 per quintal and the maximum of 1,415 per quintal while MSP is Rs 1400 per quintal. Lifting is a major problem in the mandis and hence the produce lying in a number of mandis got wet because of rainfall in the past two days.