Agri Dept assesses average wheat productivity in Karnal dist

The Agriculture and Farmers Welfare Department has initiated a large-scale crop-cutting experiment (CCE) in the district, with an aim to assess the average productivity of wheat and mustard crops across the district for the ongoing rabi season. Preliminary findings suggest that the average wheat yield stands at about 24 quintals per acre — around a quintal higher than last year's average.

The department has planned to conduct CCEs in 1,720 fields across the district. So far, experiments have been completed on nearly 1,100 fields. Agriculture teams are visiting fields, interacting with farmers, and collecting data to determine field-level yields after harvesting.

Dr Wazir Singh, Deputy Director Agriculture (DDA), said, “The experiments help determine average yields, which are essential not only for productivity analysis but also for compensation in case of crop loss under the Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana (PMFBY).”

So far, the department has verified 3,98,856 acres of the total 4,03,031 acres registered under wheat cultivation by 56,646 farmers on the Meri Fasal, Mera Byora portal.

CCEs have also been conducted on 250 fields selected for mustard crops.

Senior officials, including Dr Rajeev Kumar Mishra, Joint Director (Statistics), Agriculture Department, also visited the fields to check the experiments and interacted with farmers.

The DDA said despite adverse climatic conditions in the starting of harvesting, the yield is good. “The initial observations indicate a promising production. Final report will be drawn once all experiments are completed and the data is analysed,” he said.

Wheat influx; lifting slow

Wheat arrival is in full swing across the district. In the current season, 61,81,875 quintals of wheat have arrived, which is about 19.33 lakh quintals more than last year. However, the lifting process is slow—of the total 57,71,302 quintals, only 22,67,934 quintals have been lifted.