Delayed paddy harvest, DAP shortage hit wheat sowing in Punjab

Wheat sowing, which should have been ideally completed by Friday in Punjab, has been delayed due to slow paddy harvest and the poor availability of diammonium phosphate (DAP). So far, the sowing has been completed on about 60 per cent of the land.

Trader booked for selling DAP at high rate

An FIR has been registered against a trader at Urapur village of Nawanshahr under the Essential Commodities Act, for unauthorised stocking of DAP and for selling it at an inflated rate. The FIR has been registered at the Aur police station, as the dealer had unauthorisedly stored 23 bags of DAP at his house and was selling it in loose quantity.

Information available from the state Agriculture Department revealed that wheat sowing had so far been done only on 20 lakh hectares of land, against the expected target of 35 lakh hectares. Wheat sowing is yet to start in the south Malwa region, which traditionally used to be a cotton belt. However, farmers there have shifted to the wheat-paddy crop cycle. Paddy in this part of the state is still being harvested.

Official sources in the department told The Tribune that 92 per cent of the paddy had already been harvested and farmers were rushing to sow wheat. “The traditional wheat varieties can be sown only till November 15. Any delay can hit the yield. However, several varieties used by farmers now can be sown till November 30. These are PBW 826, PBW 824, PBW 766 and DBW 187, etc,” said an officer in the department.

Many farmers said they were not bothered about the delay in wheat sowing as the temperature had not yet fallen so far this year. “Our main concern is the poor availability of DAP, and farmers are being forced to run from pillar to post to arrange fertiliser. Farmers have to make do with just 50-60 per cent of the demand,” said Gyan Singh of Gilzian village of Hoshiarpur.

Inquiries made by The Tribune showed that till date, 3.35 lakh metric tonnes (LMT) of DAP had been received in the state. Over and above this, 60,000 MT of DAP substitutes are also available in the state, which most farmers are reluctant to use. The requirement in the rabi marketing season is 5.50 LMT. For the past two days, the state has not received any fresh DAP stock.