The Punjab Government has said the state would achieve a wheat output of nearly 157 lakh tonnes, almost 4 per cent more than the previous year’s production, on the back of favourable weather conditions.

The state has witnessed record low arrivals in the ongoing wheat procurement season.

“There is no reason to worry...we are eyeing to achieve wheat production of 156.64 lakh tonnes this season which is more than the last year’s output,” the Director of Agriculture Department, Punjab, Mr B.S. Sidhu, told PTI here today.

Wheat production in the state stood at 151.69 lakh tonnes last year.

The state, which contributes almost 60 per cent of its output to the Central pool, is also expecting yield to go up by 1.5 quintals to 2 quintals per hectare as intense cold conditions prevailed during last winter season.

Cold wave helps in shoots multiplication and prevents the pest attack on crop.

“We are also expecting that the crop yield will also go up by 1.5 quintals to 2 quintals per hectare because weather remained conducive in the winter season,” he noted.

Punjab is now expecting close to 45 quintals per hectare yield compared with 43.7 quintals attained during last season.

Notably, the state recorded over 45 quintals of yield in 1999-2000, 2000-01, 2001-02 and 2007-08.

Related Topics
comment COMMENT NOW