Paddy harvesting at 75% in Pb, wheat sowingdelayed
As of November 5, Punjab has harvested 75% of its paddy crop, matching last year’s levels. However, wheat sowing has faced delays on about 200,000 hectares, with only 300,000 hectares planted so far. Farmers attribute this delay to a shortage of DAP fertilizer, postponing sowing until adequate supplies are available. While farmers reported waiting up to 15 days for paddy procurement, state officials claimed no significant DAP shortage exists, stating sufficient alternatives are available for wheat sowing.
Patiala: Paddy harvesting this year has attained nearly identical levels as the previous year by November 5, with 75% of the crop already harvested in Punjab. Nevertheless, wheat sowing has experienced delays across approximately two lakh hectares. By this date, sowing has been accomplished in three lakh hectares, whereas last year, by November 5, around 75% of paddy had been harvested and wheat sowing was finalised in 4.88 lakh hectares across the state.
Agricultural specialists indicated that delayed wheat sowing was correlated to DAP shortage as cultivators were postponing wheat-sowing until sufficient and requisite fertiliser quantities became accessible. “Besides the DAP shortage, the delay in the entire procurement process of paddy yield needs to be blamed for the delay in wheat-sowing. Farmers waited up to 15 days for procurement at the grain markets. This is an appropriate time for sowing wheat for the farmers, but they have been busy arranging the fertiliser for their crop-sowing,” said farmer Surinder Singh.
However, state agriculture officials assert there was no substantial DAP shortage as publicised. They specified that against the requirement of 4.70 LMT of DAP this season till November, the state possesses 4.20 LMT, of which 3.76 LMT is exclusively available for wheat crop sowing. Agriculture joint director GS Brar said the state maintains adequate alternatives including 33,000 MT of TSP, 75,000 MT of NPK and 1.24 LMT of SSP.
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