In countrys record harvest,UPs share is an all-time high

Experts say that even if the weather turns unfavourable,the state may lose only 1 to 1.5 per cent of the crop and still be the highest wheat producing state this year

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As India expects a record wheat harvest this year,Uttar Pradesh is tipped to produce more than 300 lakh metric tonnes of the crop this year about 15 lakh metric tonnes more than last years production.

Experts say that even if the weather turns unfavourable,the state may lose only 1 to 1.5 per cent of the crop and still be the highest wheat producing state this year.

Uttar Pradesh is one of the top three wheat producing states of the country,competing with Haryana and Punjab. Covering 95 lakh hectares of land,UP is also the largest state in terms of wheat producing area. It produced 285 lakh metric tonnes of the crop last year.

C P Srivastava of the UP agriculture department said,We have had a wonderful production of wheat this year. Even if ike fire or untimely rainfall and storm may damage the crop by 1 or 1.5 per cent,it still wont affect the crop much.

Apart from timely sowing and availability of fertilizers,nature has also favoured the growers this year. Said Srivastava: The line sowing programme of the department of agriculture,under the Rashtriya Krishi Vikas Yojna,has helped a lot in boosting the yield. Under this project,we covered 150 lakh hectares in the first phase. Wheat was sown in lines to ensure that seed wastage was minimal. We also tried to ensure a timely availability of fertilisers.

Mukesh Gautam,Director,Agriculture UP,said,For the past four-five years,the temperatures would shoot up in February,drying up the grains. This year,however,the weather was cool till March,helping the crop gain more weight.

Storage a big challenge

n UP lacks sufficient warehousing capacity to store the wheat to be procured from farmers under the Minimum Support Price scheme. Proper and timely storage of wheat procured is our biggest challenge. The total warehousing capacity of UP is 58 lakh metric tonnes. The FCI has assured that it can store 11 lakh metric tonnes,while 17 lakh metric tonne space will be created in the next three months. Three lakh metric tonnes will be kept in the open with tarpaulin sheet covers called cover and plinths CAP storage, said UP Food Commissioner Rajan Shukla.

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n In Punjab,meanwhile,112 lakh tonnes of foodgrains 50.9 lakh tonnes of wheat and 61 lakh tonnes of rice are occupying more than half of its storage capacity of 200 lakh tonnes. Though the FCI will move out 20 lakh tonnes of wheat from grain markets and godowns,the state will have to contend with just 88 lakh tonnes of storage space.