Despite untimely rains, hail-fall and blowing of strong winds in the latter part of March and the beginning of April, the Gurdaspur district administration is expecting a bumper crop of wheat this season.
Deputy commissioner Abhinav Trikha on Saturday said that though hail-fall in the area had slowed down the process of ripening of the wheat crop, it did not harm the yield and quality of the crop in the district.
He said that this year a total of 5.65 lakh metric tonnes of wheat was expected to arrive in the mandis of the district as against last year's 5.50 lakh tonnes. He said the farmers get an average yield of 20 quintals of wheat an acre in the district, but this year they are getting 20 to 21 quintals of yield per acre.
He, however, said that the late variety 550 of wheat sown in the district was experiencing a loss of yield from one to two quintals per acre in the district.
The crops that seemed to be damaged by untimely rains and hail-fall and flattened by the strong winds are also having more yield and better quality even as their maturation got delayed.
Sources revealed that the seed of wheat namely HD 967 developed by the Haryana government was sown on most of the land this season in the district and it worked very well.
The crops that seemed to be damaged by untimely rains and hail-fall and flattened by the strong winds are also having more yield and better quality even as their maturation got delayed.
Sources revealed that the seed of wheat namely HD 967 developed by the Haryana government was sown on most of the land this season in the district and it worked very well.
The DC said that 2.86 lakh tonnes of wheat have already arrived in the various mandis of the district and most of the produce hasd been procured and lifted timely. The flattened crops were reaped with scythe by the farmers while combines were pressed into service to harvest the other healthy plants of the crop in the district.