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‘Orange alert’ for dense fog In Punjab, Hry issued for today
According to the evening bulletin, the IMD issued an ‘orange alert’ for ‘dense to very dense fog’ for Friday and for ‘dense fog’ on Saturday.
India Meteorological Department (IMD)’s Chandigarh centre extended the fog alert in Haryana and Punjab till Sunday.
According to the evening bulletin, the IMD issued an ‘orange alert’ for ‘dense to very dense fog’ for Friday and for ‘dense fog’ on Saturday.
The weathermen have also issued a ‘yellow alert’ for Sunday.
As per the bulletin, in the last 24 hours (till 8.30 am), 10 mm rain was recorded in Faridabad, 7.2 mm in Jind and 4.5 mm in Gurgaon.
Due to light rain, the IMD said that there is a rise of 4.1 degree Celsius in average minimum temperature.
Hisar and Narnaul recorded 8.5 degree Celsius as minimum temperature for the day in the state, followed by 9.4 degrees Celsius in Panipat and 9.6 degrees Celsius in Sirsa.
Among other places in Punjab, Amritsar’s minimum temperature was 7.2 degrees Celsius, a degree below normal, according to a report by the Met department.
Ludhiana recorded a low of 7.8 degrees Celsius, one degree above normal and Patiala recorded 9.2 degrees Celsius. Pathankot logged 6.5 degrees Celsius, followed by 6 degrees Celsius in Faridkot, 5.7 degrees Celsius in Gurdaspur and 5.6 degrees Celsius in Bathinda, it added.
Wheat institute issues advisory in view of rain, fog
As the region witnessed dense fog since the last fortnight and light rain this week, the Indian Institute of Wheat and Barley Research (IIWBR) in its advisory has asked the wheat farmers to apply urea accordingly and in case of no rain in their areas, light irrigation should be given to the crop avoid frost damage.
In its advisory, the Karnal-based central institute said that wheat sowing has been completed in the country and favourable weather conditions are supporting vegetative growth and tillering of wheat crop.
In its fortnightly advisory (January 16-30), IIWBR on Thursday said that considering the recent rainfall received in Northern India, it is advised to apply urea dose of 40 kg per acre to ensure good growth.
“In those areas, where there is no rainfall, to protect the crop from frost damage, light irrigation may be given if soil is not having sufficient moisture. Also, farmers should keep an eye on the weather before irrigation and avoid it if there is a forecast of rain so that the situation of excess water can be avoided. Proper weed management needs to be followed at this stage,” it said.
The institute also asked farmers to regularly monitor the crop for yellow and brown rust infections and if there is yellowing in the crop, excessive nitrogen should not be used, which should also be avoided in fog or cloudy conditions.
It further said that in areas where paddy, maize, cotton or sugarcane are grown, pink borer attacks occur, in which the wheat crop is mainly damaged by caterpillars.
“To avoid such infestation, nitrogen fertiliser in split doses should be used. The infested tillers should be handpicked as their destruction reduces borer attack,” the advisory read.
ICAR-IIWBR director Ratan Tiwari said that light rain will benefit the wheat crop as it will help farmers save expenses from at least one round of irrigation.
Moreover, Tiwari said that observing the prevailing weather conditions where there is a drop in temperature during night coupled with fog and sunlight during the daytime, he is hopeful that the crop will remain healthy throughout the season. (With inputs from PTI)
