Rising temperature may hit wheat crop, experts on guard

A sudden rise in day temperature is worrying agriculture experts who feel that it could lead to shrivelling of wheat seed and impact the yield.

Patiala Chief Agriculture Officer Jaswinder Singh has set up block-level teams to inspect the wheat crop in various villages so that advisory could be issued to farmers according to the current condition of the crop.

He said the day temperature was hovering around 21-23°C while the night temperature was around 5-6°C. He said if the temperature continued to rise like this, there was a possibility of reduction in the yield of wheat.

To mitigate the effect of increase in temperature, he advised farmers to mix potassium nitrate in water as per the recommendation of agriculture experts and spray it on the wheat crop. He also asked the farmers to inspect the crop for the prevention of yellow rust.

The CAO also advised farmers not to panic and fall in the trap of those promoting pesticide and insecticide spray which would increase the input cost. Rather the farmers should contact the Agriculture Department, Punjab Agriculture University, and Kisan Vikas Kendras for expert guidance, he said.

On the other hand, PAU experts said there was no imminent threat to the wheat crop as flowering stage was still away. They said sunshine hours were beneficial for the crop growth in January but temperatures in February and March would determine the yield.

The phenomenon is not new as inclement weather has been leading to a dip in harvest over the past few years. Similar phenomenon was witnessed in 2022, when sudden rise in the temperature during the first and second week of March had affected the wheat yield in Punjab.