Rain worries wheat growers in Punjab, Haryana

As wheat harvesting picks up in Punjab and Haryana, recent rain and windy weather has left farmers in the states worried.

Hailstorm lashed Jalandhar yesterday, while Amritsar, Phagwara, Nawanshahr and Balachaur received showers, which was accompanied by strong winds. Showers also lashed isolated places in Haryana, while windy weather prevailed in Chandigarh.

The Meteorological Department has forecast light to moderate rains or thunder showers are likely to occur in parts of Punjab and Haryana over the next two days.

“Hail storm and strong winds have damaged my crop,” Sukhdev Singh, a farmer in a village in Jalandhar said.

“The rain at early stage of wheat crop is beneficial, but rain and windy weather during these days can cause great damage to the ripe crop,” he said.

With produce reaching various grain markets for procurement, rains at this stage can also increase the problems of storage.

Keeping the weather forecast in view, the farmers of the state were advised to make necessary arrangements to prevent any possible damage to their crops, Mr Ashok Yadav, Director General, Agriculture, Haryana said.

“The most important crop of Rabi season is wheat and the harvesting, threshing and other operations are in full swing. The harvesting of mustard had almost completed and that of gram was likely to be completed very soon,” he said.

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