India: Warm February has farmers worried about low wheat yield

With continuous warm afternoons these days, a fear has again gripped farmers’ minds that they might suffer the same problem of low wheat yield just like last year. The early onset of summers last had taken a toll on the wheat production and the grain had shrunk due to intense heat in 2022. Farmers in some areas had also demanded compensation then. Agriculture experts say this time again, the temperature is higher than it should be.

Tarsem Singh from Ucha village in Jalandhar says last year the yield had reduced because of high temperature. “I am hoping that in a day or two, there should be nip in the air again. Then only the crop will be protected,” he says. Singh grows wheat on 50 acres.

Chief Agriculture Officer Jaswant Rai says last year, the mercury rose suddenly when the crop got matured. “If such conditions remain for the coming days, there will be yield loss,” he adds.

The officer further informed that since Jalandhar is known as the potato belt in the region, wheat gets sown late in this belt, resulting in late maturing and thus the crop remains protected here. Another farmer, Buta Singh, who grows wheat on 35 acres, says he was worried of the consequences if the temperature continues to rise like this. “Sometimes it’s the government; sometimes it’s the weather, but we always suffer,” he asserts.

Tags: Production, wheat, crop, yield, heat, temperature, loss, grain