A new rain threat: discolouration of grains - Hindustan Times
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A new rain threat: discolouration of grains

Hindustan Times | By, Patiala
Apr 07, 2015 08:28 PM IST

With harvesting already delayed rain gods continue to haunt the farmer fraternity as now the possibility of discolouration of grain looms large over the wheat crop.

With harvesting already delayed rain gods continue to haunt the farmer fraternity as now the possibility of discolouration of grain looms large over the wheat crop.

The rabi season this year has turned into a nightmare for farmers as unfavourable weather conditions have pervaded the whole season.

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Harvesting has been delayed to more than 15 days after "almost matured" crops got damaged due to heavy rainfall in last week of March.

The situation has been exacerbated by fresh rainfall in the past two days. If the climate continues in this vein it may spoil the whole season for farmers, affecting crop production and hurting the farmers financially.Patiala's chief agriculture officer Jasbir Singh Sandhu said rain at this point of time is to going to have adverse affect on the crop.

"Reduction in production is not an issue but discoloration of the food grains is due to fresh rains is the main concern," he said.

Wheat needs high temperature at the time of maturity and harvesting, but the rain has led to a dip in mercury following which increases chances of discoloring the grains.

Wheat was cultivated in 2.25 lakh hectare in Patiala district and 2.84 lakh hectare area in Sangrur. In Fatehgarh District around 82,000 hectares was under wheat cultivation.

Sensing huge losses few farmers have started harvesting their crops manually to save their produce.

"The loss will be calculated once weather clears. Though it is a tough time for the farmers but they should wait for favorable weather for harvesting instead of going for manual harvesting," Sandhu said.

Before 2015, the state suffered huge losses in 1982 and 1988 due to heavy rainfall at the time of harvesting.

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  • ABOUT THE AUTHOR
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    Navrajdeep Singh is a senior staff correspondent. He covers agriculture, crime, local bodies, health and education in the Patiala district of Punjab.

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