The rabi sowing of wheat commenced early this year from third-week of October in Haryana, Maharashtra and parts of Uttar Pradesh due to conducive temperature, a senior agriculture scientist today said. “Wheat sowing in some states has started a bit early from October 23 due to conducive temperature and good moisture for planting,” Karnal-based Wheat Research Institute Director B Mishra has said.
Sowing in Haryana commenced six days back, while Maharashtra and Gujarat have also started early this year, he said. Normally, wheat sowing commences between October 30 and November 15. Planting in Uttar Pradesh, the top wheat producing state, has commenced so far only in western part, Mishra said, adding sowing, however, may be delayed in Central part due to late transplanting of paddy. Punjab farmers are planning to go for sowing from tomorrow, he said.
Mishra also said wheat growing states such as Uttar Pradesh, Punjab and Haryana had received above-average rainfall this year, which increased the moisture level in the soil and is helpful for wheat sowing. Presently, the day and night temperature in these three states is about 25 and 19 degree Celsius respectively, he added. Wheat sowing will cover about 29 million hectare this year and yields may increase by two million tonnes depending upon the area planted and weather condition throughout the season.
“About seven wheat varieties have been identified this year for sowing,” Mishra said, adding that there has been higher demand for DBW17 variety in Punjab, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh. Besides that, PBW550, HD 2687 and other improved varieties are also in demand, he said.
Farmers in India produced a record wheat crop of 78.4 million tonnes last year, while the government targets to raise production by 1,00,000 tonnes to 78.5 million tonnes in 2008-09. In a recently held rabi conference, state governments had agreed to increase production by ensuring timely sowing of wheat and completing the activity by November-end.
