Wheat yield in Punjab may improve

Favourable climatic conditions in Punjab this year are expected to scale up the wheat yield significantly, compared to the consistent decline in yield witnessed in previous years, agricultural experts said.

"This year, the wheat yield is likely to improve because of the favourable weather conditions, which entailed low temperature and sufficient amount of rain particularly in February," Punjab Agricultural University Scientist (wheat section) GS Dhillon said here.

Experts said though minimum temperature remained a bit high against the average level, several spells of rain in February helped the winter crop in maintaining the moisture content and starch depositing in the plants.

"We recorded about 84.7 mm of rain in the month of February as against the average 29.9 mm, which could prove beneficial for the wheat crops," a PAU weather scientist said.

Punjab, which is considered the food bowl of the country, has witnessed sharp decline in the wheat yield over the past few years because of rising temperature in the month of February and March every year.

Punjab attained the highest wheat yield in the year 1999-2000 of 4,696 kg per hectare (kg ph).

But thereafter, the state was unable to maintain the high wheat yield, which started dipping from 2000-2001 at 4563 kg ph, 4532 kg ph in 2001-02 and 4200 kg in 2002-03.