Amritsar, April 10
Agriculture experts have advised farmers to not harvest the wheat crop until it is fully ripened as more moisture content in grain will pose difficulties in procurement of the produce by agencies of the government.
The permissible limit for moisture in wheat grain has been fixed at 12 per cent. Wheat with moisture content more than the limit would not be purchased by the government agencies.
With the weather forecasts predicting light to moderate showers in the state after April 14, it is feared that a few farmers might try to harvest the crop to save it from rain. The experts said light to moderate rain would not inflict an adverse impact on the grain.
Jatinder Singh Gill, Chief Agriculture Officer, said, “Wheat has been grown on nearly 1.88 lakh hectares. A total yield of over nine lakh metric tonnes is expected from the district. The wheat harvesting season span is of 10 to 15 days as ample number of combine harvesting machines are available in Punjab.”
The official procurement of wheat in state had started on April 1, but grain markets in the district have not yet seen any arrival of the crop.
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