Cold comfort

The recent cold wave in north India is proving a mixed bag for crop output...

The recent cold wave in north India is proving a mixed bag for crop output, for even as wheat is likely to benefit from low temperatures, potatoes and other vegetables will suffer.

Experts are predicting an increase in yield by 1-2 quintals per hectare of wheat if the current spell prolongs for some more days. “The wheat yield may increase from 42 quintals per hectare at present to 43-44 quintals if the cold wave conditions persist for a couple of days more,” said Punjab State Farmers Commission senior economist P.S. Rangi.

Describing the ongoing weather as “conducive” and “beneficial” for the wheat crop, experts pointed out that, “the cold wave promotes tillering of the wheat crop which would help in enhancing the wheat output”. The cold conditions would also restrain the attack of insects or pests in the wheat crop, they added.

Last year, the sudden rise in temperature by 1-2 degree at night during the end of January had hit the crop hard. “But this year, the situation is different, which will turn out to be beneficial for wheat,” said a senior official of the Punjab Agriculture Department.

The matter assumes significance as unfavourable weather conditions in the past have turned out to be a major impediment in the growth of wheat production, forcing the state Agriculture Department to fix a modest wheat output target.

After attaining the highest wheat yield of 46.96 quintals per hectare in 1999-2000, Punjab was unable to maintain the yield which started declining from 2000-2001 at 45.63 quintals per hectare, to 45.32 quintals per hectare in 2001-02 and 42 quintals per hectare in 2002-03. However, it improved marginally in 2003-04 and 2004-05 at 42.07 quintals and 42.21 quintals respectively. But it again dipped to 41.79 quintals per hectare in 2005-06.

As far as potato is concerned, the news is bleak. The cold and frost in Punjab may slash the potato production in 2007-08 by 27 per cent to 950,000 tonnes, a senior official said. “Frost has damaged nearly 30-35 per cent of potato crop in Punjab, which is likely to cause a fall in production by 350,000 tonnes,” Dr Baldev Singh, Director of Horticulture Department, Punjab, said. The department had earlier expected the output to touch 1.3 million tonnes.

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Punjab is a major producer of potato and had cultivated the crop in 75,000 hectares this year. India produced 27 million tonnes of potatoes in 2006-07, as per the data from the National Horticulture Research and Development Foundation.