Rise in mercury may affect crop yield: Experts
BOX
Abnormally high temp
The temperature has remained around 32°C for most part of the last week, but after slight showers, the mean average temperature for the week came down to 27°C. This is still abnormally high for this time of the year when the wheat crop is at the ripening stage.
Ruchika M Khanna
Tribune News Service
Chandigarh, February 28
The abnormally high temperature could lead to stress in the standing wheat crop in Punjab and adversely affect its yield. This will impact the only sector in Punjab’s economy — agriculture — that has been on the upswing in the Covid-induced economic downturn.
The temperature has remained around 32°C for most part of the last week, but after slight showers, the mean average temperature for the week came down to 27°C. This is still abnormally high for this time of the year when the wheat crop is at the ripening stage.
Farm experts say that high temperature stress is a major environmental factor that limits yield in wheat. Every one degree increase above the mean temperature of 23°C will result in fall in wheat yield. The high temperature reported in the last week could lead to a loss in wheat yield by almost three per cent, they warn.
In the ongoing rabi marketing season, the total area under wheat cultivation in the state is 35.10 lakh hectares. With an expected yield of 50.5 quintals per hectare, the state is targeting a production of 177 lakh tonnes.
However, officials in the state Agriculture Department said if the temperature remained as high during this week, it would hit the production as the yield loss of seven to eight per cent could be there. It may be added that sources in the Meteorology Department say that there is no prediction of rain in the coming week. They, however, say that even if the temperature falls till March 20, the yield loss can be minimalised.
Punjab’s Director Agriculture Sukhdev Singh said they were keeping a close watch on the rising temperature and had issued an advisory to farmers to irrigate their fields so that the crop does not get stressed.
