Fog brings cheer to Punjab farmers

Tribune News Service

Bathinda, February 21

The sudden fog this morning brings smiles on the faces of farmers in the region, which were worried over a sudden high temperature and prolonged dry spell in the region for the last few days.

Good for crop

Wheat is a temperature-sensitive crop and high temperatures for the past few days will affect the quality of the crop, but fog is good, so we expect cold weather to continue for some days. —Shingara Singh Mann, farmer

An agriculture expert said the foggy weather was beneficial for wheat. The day temperature was high, which was not conducive for the crop growth.

Farmer union leader Shingara Singh Mann said, “Wheat is a temperature-sensitive crop and high temperature in the past few days will affect the quality of the crop, but fog is good for all crops, so we expect fog or cold weather to continue for some time.”

He also explained that a warm temperature was required during harvesting only, whereas this year, a sudden rise in temperature had been reported as compared to previous years during the time when crop was at the ripening process.

A farmer Mahinder Singh in Mansa district has sown wheat crop on over 10 acres. He was concerned over the rise in the temperature and prolonged dry spell.

Another farmer Gurbaksh Singh in Bathinda said, “The temperature used to increase in the first or second week of March but this time, it has become warm in February. Now, it remains to be seen how much it affects the yield. Moreover, one-day fog is not enough for this, we need more foggy days and normal temperature.”