Punjab wheat yield set to hit all-time high this rabi season
According to Punjab Agricultural University vice-chancellor SS Gosal there was no pest attack and untimely hailstorms and winds affected the crop only in limited pockets, which will boost the yield.
Chandigarh
Conducive weather conditions, including long winters with plenty of sunshine and prevailing low night temperatures, will aid in a bumper wheat harvest this rabi season, experts said on Friday.
To be sure, the Punjab agriculture department has pegged the total production at 162 lakh tonnes, which is 1 lakh tonnes higher than the 2022-23 rabi season. Based on these estimates, the state food and civil supplies department has pegged the procurement targets at 132 lakh tonnes. The area under wheat has been stagnant for past many years and this season, the crop was sown over 35.08 lakh hectares (86 lakh acres).
“We are closely watching the crop, and the university feels, the production will witness a quantum jump this season. How much, it is to be seen,” said SS Gosal, vice-chancellor, Punjab Agricultural University.
Even as 1,307 mandis and procurement centres were opened on April 1 for procurement of wheat, so far the crop has not started arriving in the mandis. As per trends from the previous seasons, arrivals generally started from the last week of March and this change in the trend, late maturing and low temperatures, hints towards a bumper crop and the production can even breach the all-time high record of 182.57 lakh tonnes.
Gosal added that the crop’s maturing has been prolonged due to low temperatures and: “This hints that it might surpass the previous highest yield record of 182.57 lakh tonnes in the year 2018-19 when the per hectare yield was recorded to 51.88 quintals.”
Director agriculture Jaswant Singh also echoed similar views.
“The actual yield would be known when harvest is over, and the crop-cutting experiments will also reveal the average yield. We are unable to conduct the experiments as the majority of the crop on the plots owned by the department will take a couple of more weeks to mature. Harvest is expected to start after April 10,” he said.
Dip in temp ideal for the crop
According to Gosal, the rabi season had long winters in December and January months and the average temperature had also fallen below the normal. “These months though cold were good for crops which received adequate sunlight and rainfall. It helped in better tillering for the crop, meaning that more shoots developed in the crop leading to a higher number of grains on a plant,” the V-C added.
Further, according to him, there was no pest attack and untimely hailstorms and winds affected the crop only in limited pockets.
“Delayed maturing is most beneficial for the crop and temperatures in March month have remained below 35 degrees Celsius. Even in April, the temperatures have not risen beyond 35 degrees Celsius as it used to in the previous years,” Gosal said, adding that this will stop the shrivelling of the grain.
He said the high-yielding variety, PBW 826, was sown over 40% of the crop area which will also help in a good yield. The variety, according to the V-C, gives a per hectare yield of 53 quintals and as per reports from 18 Kisan Vikas Kendras run by the PAU, has not reported any adverse impact on the crop.
Last season, a sudden rise in temperatures was reported in March which led to shriveling of the grain and a fall in the yield.
The state’s food and civil supplies department has already started preparations in case the arrivals go beyond 132 lakh tonnes.
According to an officer, the arrangements have been made for 132 lakh tonnes and in case the arrivals go beyond the mark, the department will make plans.