Rains and strong winds in recent days may delay wheat harvesting by at least a week in Indias key producing state of Punjab, officials and farmers said on Monday. Harvesting of wheat, sown in over 90 percent of the cultivable area of the state, usually begins from April 1 in normal weather conditions.
"Keeping the weather conditions in view, I plan to start harvest only after the first week of April," said Kuldip Singh, a farmer from a village in Kapurthala district. The weather office has forecast more rain in few places of Punjab later this week, potentially delaying the harvest further.
Punjab Agriculture Department officials said there were reports of flattening of wheat due to winds in many parts of the state but the losses would be insignificant. "The losses wont be higher as the crop has already matured. There may be delay in both mechanical and manual harvesting of the crop due to wet soil surface and higher moisture content in grains," said a farm department official in Ludhiana.
While the impact of last weeks weather conditions would be limited on the crop in Punjab, chances of lower yield still remain due to yellow rust attack and warmer winters, said P.S. Rangi, marketing consultant, Punjab State Farmers Commission. Punjab is estimated to produce 15.53 million tonnes of wheat this season, slightly less than 15.72 million tonnes in 2007/08.
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