55% wheat harvesting done in Haryana

Though the initial reports suggested that the unseasonal rains had affected wheat crops on 17 lakh acres in Haryana, there is no major impact of the rains on wheat production as the yield remains normal.

With around 55% of the crop of the total 23.76 lakh hectares under wheat having been harvested, farmers and agriculture experts are of the view that the overall production of wheat in the state remains normal.

As per reports from the major wheat-producing districts of the state, around 60% of the crop has been harvested and the average per acre yield in Karnal, Kurukshetra and Kaithal districts remains around 20 quintal per acre. Even farmers said in some areas, the yield has reached around 22 to 23 quintal from an acre.

“This year the yield is bumper as I have recorded 24 quintal per acre from 13 acres harvested so far. This year the yield is better than the last three years. Though it would have been better if the rains had not flattened the crop,” said a farmer, Praveen Kumar of Karnal’s Nilokheri.

“I have harvested six acres so far and the average yield from six acres is around 22 quintal, which is the highest in the past two to three years,” said Krishan Kumar, a farmer from Radaur in Yamunanagar district.

Karam Chand, deputy director, Haryana agriculture department, Kaithal district, said, “Around 60% of the total 4.20 lakh acres in the district has been harvested and only 5 to 10% yield loss has been reported in some pockets where the crop was flattened. Even in some pockets, the yield remains above normal”.

In Kurukshetra, deputy director Pradeep Meel said that out of the total 2.57 lakh acres under wheat, nearly 60% of the crop has been harvested and the average yield has been measured as 19.37 quintal per acre against 17 quintal last year.

Even the wheat arrival figures from mandis reveal the same story. Since this year, the harvesting was delayed by a week due to unseasonal rains but in Karnal district, the procurement of wheat remains 4.58 lakh MT till April 15, against 4.68 lakh MT wheat procured last year during the same period. In Kurukshetra district, government agencies have procured 2.44 lakh MT against 2.52 lakh MT procured last year during the first fortnight of the harvesting.

However, a senior officer from the Haryana food and supplies department has predicted that the overall wheat procurement will remain around 70 lakh MT against the first target of 85 lakh MT as around 40 lakh MT of wheat has already arrived in the mandis of the state and 29.65 lakh MT has been procured by the government agencies till Saturday. The year 2022-23 was the worst year for wheat growers of Haryana as the state had reported around 50% dip in the wheat output and the overall procurement in the state was 41.86 lakh MT against 84.93 lakh MT of 2021-22.

Narhari Bangar, director, department of agriculture and farmers’ welfare, Haryana, said, “Yes, the losses to the crop were reported in some pockets, especially in the southern parts, but this year the overall yield is better and it will compensate for the losses caused by the rains.”