Relief for farmers: Cold wave this week to help wheat crop

Wheat and mustard crops have been facing moisture stress due to a warmer than usual winter

In what could be a relief to millions of farmers and the government, India Meteorological Department (IMD) has said severe cold wave conditions are likely in Punjab, Haryana and northern Rajasthan from Tuesday till the morning of Saturday. This, after the slight drizzle over most of North India since Friday, could be a lifeline for the standing wheat and mustard crops, facing moisture stress due to a warmer than usual winter. 

IMD had said last month that temperatures in all sub-divisions were likely to be warmer than normal between December and February. 

The unusual weather impelled a review meeting recently at the ministry of agriculture. It reportedly decided to wait till the end of January and watch the situation closely. There would be problems if temperatures increase during the wheat crop maturing stage, after January.  Apparently, every one-degree Celsius rise in average temperature pulls down the wheat yield by 10%. The average wheat yield in India is three to four tonnes a hectare; Punjab's is six to seven tonnes a hectare.

“The wheat crop is at the growing state in many places and a prolonged warm period for the next 15-20 days would have been really bad for the final yields,” a senior agriculture scientist said. 

IMD in its Monday forecast said cold wave conditions are also likely over West UP from Tuesday morning to Friday morning. and ground frost is likely at pockets over Punjab, Haryana and north Rajasthan in the same period. Several parts of the north have had a light drizzle, lowering the temperature by half to one degree Celsius.

Till last week, it was estimated that wheat had been planted on 30.31 mn ha, about 7.6% more than in the same period last year. 

However, with ongoing cash crunch in many areas, many farmers say they have used old seeds.

“Overall temperatures across the country would be above normal, while in North India, which only experiences cold waves, the number of such spells would be fewer this year,” IMD chief K J Ramesh had told this newspaper last month.