The government today said any continuation of the current drizzle beyond a few days may delay wheat harvesting which is expected to commence in the third week of this month.
"The current drizzling rains are good for wheat crop. If it continues in the coming weeks then harvesting may delay," Minister of State for Agriculture Arun Yadav told reporters on the sidelines of Krishi Vigyan Mela.
Wheat harvesting normally begins after the festival of Holi on March 20, he said.
Echoing similar views, Indian Agricultural Research Institute (IARI) Director H S Gupta said, "This year, cold temperature and intermittent drizzling has continued till now and it is proving beneficial to the wheat crop".
"But now, the rains should stop for good harvest to take place by the end of this month," he noted.
On wheat output, Gupta said. "So far, the weather indicates that production will not be less than 82 million tonnes and is expected to touch 84-85 million tonnes".
The government has pegged a record wheat production of 81.47 million tonnes for this year, as against 80.8 million tonnes last year.
Inaugurating a three-day farmers' fair organised by the government's research body IARI, Yadav said, farmers should take advantage of new schemes announced in the Budget and improve farm production.
Noting that mela provides a window of opportunities for all stakeholders including farmers to know about new technologies developed for improving farm output, he said similar melas should be organised at state levels.
Minister of State for Food Processing Harish Rawat said such melas help address the challenges faced by the farm sector. Over one lakh farmers from across the country are expected to participate in the fair.
The special feature of the mela is facility of one-to-one interaction with farmers to sentisize them about the latest technologies.
