Punjab’s wheat growers upbeat after rainfall, drop in mercury
Recent rainfall has provided relief to wheat farmers concerned about rising temperatures in February. While some areas in Punjab’s Doaba region experienced hailstorms, agricultural experts confirm that they caused no significant damage. The rain has lowered temperatures by 6-7°C, improving wheat yield prospects. However, potato farmers must ensure proper drainage to prevent crop damage.
Even as higher temperature in February this year has become a cause of worry for wheat farmers, the rainfall since Wednesday night has brought some cheer to them.
It rained at short intervals throughout the day even on Thursday with sunshine for about an hour or so. Some parts of the Doaba region, especially Jalandhar city and its periphery, also saw a hailstorm but agriculture experts and farmers said it did not cause any damage to the crops.
Former Joint Director (Agriculture) Surinder Singh said, “The size of the hail was not big enough to cause any damage to the standing crop. The hailstorm occurred only in a limited area. The rainfall, however, was widespread and has brought down the mercury by six to seven notches, which is a big relief for the farmers. Had the temperature continued to soar, it would have resulted in a fall in yield. The rainfall has come as a huge respite for the wheat farmers. However, potato farmers need to ensure that there is no standing water in the fields around the crop or else it could get destroyed.”
Sukhdev S Bhullar, a wheat farmer from Bhullar Bet village of Kapurthala, said, “We thank the rain gods for being benevolent on us. There was no hail or high speed winds in our area.”
Salwinder Singh Janian, a farmer from Shahkot, said, “There was no hailstorm around our fields. The rainfall too was moderate. All farmers in our area are now expecting a good yield once again with the fall in temperature.”
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Source : The Tribune
