Cold weather will boost wheat yield: Agri experts

Tribune News Service

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Bathinda, December 25

The early dip in mercury levels, coupled with fog and extremely cold weather this year has brought cheers to farming community in the region as the current climatic conditions are expected to improve the crop yield this wheat season.

According to agricultural experts, early cold weather conditions would augur well for the ongoing wheat season and the climate conditions were conducive for complete growth of wheat, which most likely would result in maximum yield this season.

The temperature has declined further in the past over 15 days. While on one hand city residents are finding it difficult to move around in the nail-biting cold, the farming community, on the other hand, is quite upbeat about the prospects of good yield.

Farmers said though the sowing of wheat was delayed due to government’s aggressive checks on stubble burning during the paddy harvesting season, early cold weather and fog has provided them much-needed relief now.

Harbhajan Singh, a farmer from Goniana block, said: “The early cold weather and the foggy conditions will bode well for the growth of wheat. I have sown wheat in eight acres. I am expecting a bumper crop this season.”

District Agriculture Officer Gurditta Singh said: “The cold weather at this stage will be quite beneficial for the wheat. In direct sowing technique, there remains a shortage of manganese sulphate in the fields so farmers should prepare liquid of manganese sulphate and then the liquid in their fields on a sunny day to increase the yield. This season, wheat was sown in approximately 2.55 lakh acres in the district. If the cold weather continued till mid-February, the wheat yield will improve a lot.”