Wheat production may be affected: 'recent rains to have positive impact on major Rabi crops'

According to agriculture experts the recent rains will have a positive impact on overall production of major Rabi crops but may negatively affect wheat production in irrigated areas of the country. Recent rains would have a very positive impact on standing crops, including wheat, gram and orchards, in Pakistan, especially in the rain-fed areas but it may negatively affect wheat production in irrigated areas as strong winds during rains cause lodging of wheat crops in some areas of the country including Sialkot, Gujranwala and Malkand divisions, they mentioned.
Dr Aslam Gill, Crop Commissioner Ministry of National Food Security and Research told Business Recorder that if farmers failed to pump out rain water standing in the fields it would have a negative impact especially on wheat production. Meteorological Department's Chief Dr Ghulam Rasool said that the cloudy weather conditions will continue till coming Saturday and it is expected another rain spell will start from Sunday which will continue for three days.
A senior official of Ministry of National Food Security and Research said that the Federal Committee on Agriculture (FCA) had fixed wheat production target at 26.3 million tons for Rabi season 2014-15, with Punjab targeted to produce 19.6m tons, Sindh 4.4m tons, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa 1.4m and Balochistan 0.9m tons.
The official said that the committee set gram production target at 0.72m tons for Rabi season, with Punjab production target of 0.761m tons, Sindh 0.958m tons, KP 0.530m tons and Balochistan 0.825m tons. Gram is the largest Rabi pulse crop, accounting for 76 percent of the total production of pulses in the country and it occupies about five percent of the cropped area, he said.
According to weather advisory issued by Metrological department for farmers wheat crop is in heading/flowering stages. Farmers are advised to irrigate the crops keeping the expected rain in the agricultural plains of the country into account. At this stage of wheat crop, farmers should control further weed growth manually or by any recommended spray, it said.