Rainfall delays wheat harvesting in Haryana by a week, farmers worrisome over yield

By Parveen Arora

Unseasonal rainfall has disrupted wheat harvesting across the state, delaying harvesting by a week and leaving farmers worried about crop yield and quality. Accompanied by strong winds, rainfall flattened standing crops in several areas of the state twice during last week. On Wednesday, Indri block of Karnal district recorded heavy rainfall of 35.5 mm, further worsening the situation.

Fearing a fall in yield and damage to grains, farmers have halted harvesting and started maintaining round-the-clock vigils in their fields. “We had started harvesting but the rain has forced us to halt it. Now, the crop is lying flat and we are worried about excess moisture content and discolouration since such grains would not be accepted by the procurement agencies,” said farmer Amit Kumar, adding that moisture in grains may affect the overall yield.

Over the past week, rainfall has disrupted harvesting, resulting in sluggish procurement at grain markets. According to agricultural experts, the moisture content of freshly harvested wheat remains above the permissible procurement limit of 12 per cent, forcing farmers to wait at their field or the grain markets for the harvest to dry.

Experts said continuous low maximum and minimum temperatures were another factor delaying crop harvesting. Wazir Singh, Deputy Director of Agriculture, Karnal, said farmers should avoid harvesting so soon after the rain. “They should keep a vigil in their fields to drain out excess water wherever there is heavy rain,” he added.

Virender Singh Lather, former principal scientist at the Indian Agricultural Research Institute in New Delhi, said, “Wheat harvesting will commence after Baisakhi and grain arrival momentum will pick up at mandis after April 15.”

Gurbachan Singh, former chairman of the Agricultural Scientists Recruitment Board and ex-director of the Central Soil Salinity Research Institute, expressed hope for a better yield than last year despite unfavorable weather conditions and a slight fall in wheat yield due to rainfall.

This article has been republished from The Tribune.