Agriculture: Wheat sowing on track despite delay in paddy harvesting in two major states
New Delhi| Agriculture Secretary Devesh Chaturvedi said wheat sowing is going well and is expected to pick up in the coming days despite delays in paddy harvesting in the two major northern states. According to Chaturvedi, wheat sowing will accelerate in the coming days.‘‘ He said that the total sowing area had crossed last year’s level till last week.
He said favorable soil moisture conditions and weather are helpful for sowing wheat, increasing the demand for fertilizers like diammonium phosphate (DAP). Sowing is also expected to pick up in Punjab and Haryana, where paddy harvesting has been delayed due to late monsoon rains.
However, Chaturvedi cautioned that any increase in temperature in January-February could pose a risk to yields. He said the government is promoting climate-resistant wheat varieties to help farmers deal with weather-related challenges.
Chaturvedi said that sowing of other winter crops including mustard and gram is also going well. Wheat, the country’s main Rabi crop, is usually sown in November and harvested in March-April. Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Punjab, Haryana and Rajasthan are the major producing states.
