Warmer winter may hit wheat crop yield

With the weather department predicting a warmer winter this season across the country, agriculture experts are wary of wheat crop’s yield dipping in the ongoing rabi season, even as they believe that right now there is nothing to be alarmed.

Wheat sowing is in full swing across most of northern and central States of the country, including Punjab, Haryana, Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh. Till last week, wheat had been sown in 173.93 lakh hectares during the ongoing rabi season as against 152.56 lakh hectares in the corresponding period of last year.

“Wheat is a temperature sensitive crop and needs cold conditions to thrive. If temperatures are on the higher side, especially during the month of February and March then surely there could be a yield (productivity) loss, but right now there’s nothing to worry,” senior agriculture expert and Punjab State Farmers Commission adviser P. S. Rangi told,

The Hindu .

Mr. Rangi said an increase of temperature by 1 degree Celsius could result in a loss of nearly one quintal per hectare to the wheat crop.

India Meteorological Department (IMD) in its first ever winter forecast had predicted that seasonal temperatures across the country, from December to February, would be higher than normal with fewer cold waves over north and north-west India than what is typical.

Smooth sowing

Mr. R.K. Gupta, principal scientist at the Karnal-based Indian Institute of Wheat and Barley Research, said as of now wheat sowing was smooth and there was nothing to worry.