Cold wave conditions marked by lower-than-normal temperature has brightened the prospect of a bumper wheat output this Rabi season even though scanty rains could affect other crops, including barley, mustard and chickpea.
The standing wheat saplings have gained as day and night temperatures have plummeted, with clear skies boosting the vegetative growth of the crop. This season, the favourable weather follows timely sowing of wheat and marginal increase in acreage in Uttar Pradesh at 1.23 crore hectares against a little over 97 lakh hectares in 2017-18.
The hike in minimum support price by the Centre for wheat has also added to increase in the acreage of wheat. The Centre has fixed the support price for wheat at Rs 1,840 per quintal for 2018-19, against Rs 1,735 in the previous year.
“There has been a perceptible drop in temperature in Uttar Pradesh and its neighbouring states including Madhya Pradesh and even in Maharashtra and this is highly favourable for the wheat crop,” said an official of the Agriculture department, adding that the prevailing temperature was conducive for a record output of wheat in the current year.
Despite the low temperature, the frequency of foggy weather has come down considerably compared to recent years. Fog is considered favourable for wheat crop as it lowers the day temperature during the vegetative phase of the crop. But the prevailing condition of low temperatures and clear skies is seen as even more conducive for a high yield, said the official, adding that clear skies ensured better photosynthesis while the temperature was still low.
The official said the present weather conditions were favourable for wheat, but chickpea and vegetable crops had been affected. He said five cycles of irrigation were required for wheat, while other Rabi crops gained from light showers.
The Rabi season in the country is usually marked by light rains in the plains and snowfall in the hills. This season, scanty rains have occurred so far in the wheat-growing areas of the state but the dry weather has limited impact on wheat, which is grown almost entirely on irrigated land.
The official said that as per the assessment of the UP Council of Agricultural Research (UPCAR), isolated and scattered rains and snow due to western disturbances forecast in northern states were likely to ease the dry spell.
As per the latest wheat production data available with the Agriculture department, wheat production in UP in 2017-18 Rabi season was 3.57 crore MT which is up by around 7.50 lakh MT produced during the previous year (2016-17). During the current Rabi season (2018-19), the production is likely to increase by over 10 per cent. The productivity has gone up from 35.38 quintal per hectare last year to 36.50 quintal per hectare in 2017-18.