The Hindu Business Line : Wheat area rises 45 pc

The news on the domestic wheat front is good so far. Cumulative acreage under the crop, at 70.76 lakh hectares (lh), is almost 45 per cent more than the 48.84 lh sown during this time last year.

The two main States that contribute to the Central grain pool have so far reported higher plantings: from 13.91 lh to 16.65 lh for Punjab and from 14.20 lh to 15 lh for Haryana. But the most spectacular jump has been in Uttar Pradesh, from 1.77 lh to 10.96 lh, with Madhya Pradesh (12.62 lh to 15.10 lh), Rajasthan (0.85 lh to 4.75 lh), Maharashtra (2.72 lh to 3.18 lh) and Gujarat (0.47 lh to 2.47 lh) also recording increases.

According to scientists, early sowing is good because it would allow the crop to grow for its entire duration of 135-145 days.

In recent years, this has not been happening due to the early onset of summer, which has led to premature ripening of the crop, translating into lower yields. "This time, even if temperatures start going up in March, the crop would have attained minimal maturity and will not get affected. What we have to watch out now are not temperature levels in March, but in December. If the winter does not set in properly in December, there would be poor tillering (stem formation), leading to early ear-head emergence and flowering," the scientists say.

Clearly, buoyant market prices and the Rs 100 per quintal hike in the minimum support price have prompted farmers to grow more wheat. Though a large chunk of sowing is still left — the normal area under wheat is 260-270 lh — it looks that farmers in general have gone in more for early sowing.