More than rain, wind can ruin wheat crop: Experts

The rain anticipated over the next few days may impact wheat and other rabi crops in the north-western States of Haryana and Punjab if it is accompanied by strong wind, experts said on Wednesday.

“We are not sure whether there would be strong winds along with the rains. Strong winds can lead to lodging of wheat resulting in crop loss,” said GP Singh, Director of the Indian Institute of Wheat and Barley Research, an Indian Council of Agricultural Research laboratory, located at Karnal.

According to Singh, otherwise, a bumper wheat crop is expected this year.

The India Meteorological Department (IMD) and private weather forecasting agencies such as Skymet have forecast widespread rain across many parts of North India in the next three-four days. According to IMD, some parts of North India can expect gusty winds of up to 40 km per hour.

“Light to moderate rains can be beneficial to the crop, as they can help the grains to become bigger. But hailstorms, which are expected in some pockets, can damage the standing crop,” said GP Sharma of Skymet. He said there could be four days of rains, which would peak on March 6.

“Farmers are always worried about unpredictable inclement weather,” Sharma said.

Ajay Vir Jhakhar of Bharat Krishak Samaj and Chairman of Punjab Farmers’ Commission, said that with rains, wet soil can loosen up and if there are winds, they can upset the balance of the standing wheat crop, which is already heavy with grains. But rains alone will have very little impact on the crop, Jhakhar said.

Meanwhile, Rajinder Singh, a former Haryana government agricultural extension worker in Karnal district, said farmers in many villages in the district are worried even about heavy rainfall. This is because due to encroachment as well as road construction, drainage is in disrepair in these villages. Water-logging at this time can lead to stem rotting, affecting the crop. Many wheat farmers in and around Gharaunda already suffered losses in the rains that lashed on February 29. They have already complained to the government, Singh said.

Mustard crop loss

February 29 rains, accompanied by hailstorms, also impacted mustard and other crops in many Haryana districts, including Rewari, Mahendragarh, Nuh, Bhiwani and Jhajjar, prompting the Haryana government to direct insurance companies to assess the crop damage for compensating the farmers. The rains happened when the mustard crop was almost ready for harvest and as a result, the crop damage was substantial in many areas.

“The assessment is currently on to decide on the compensation,” said Suresh Gahlawat, a senior Haryana Agricultural Department official looking after agricultural extension services.

COMMENT NOW