Rain, stormy weather worries wheat farmers

Like other parts of the state, farmers in Ludhiana district are also distressed due to inclement weather that damaged their crop in the past two days.

Heavy rainfall along with high-velocity winds has inundated the fields with rain water and caused lodging of the crop which according to experts and farmers will affect the crop yield.

Chandigarh’s meteorological centre has predicted similar weather conditions March 18 onwards due to western disturbances. District agricultural officer (DAO) Sukhpal Singh Sekhon said, “Such weather conditions will damage the crop, thus overflowing the cup of woes of farmers across the state.”

“According to our survey, the rain on Saturday caused just 3-5% of damage to the crops. We have observed that about 15-20% of wheat has been damaged in isolated places of the district till now. Last night and during early morning hours, high-velocity winds have flattened the crop. Also, rain at this stage will slow down the maturity of crop,” Sekhon added.

GS Buttar, additional director of extension at Punjab Agricultural University (PAU), said, “If rainy days along with strong winds continue to march ahead, harvesting can also get delayed.”

Narpinder Singh, a professor in the department of food sciences and technology at Amritsar’s Guru Nanak Dev University (GNDU), said, “Besides low yield or delay in harvest, rain and winds at this stage can also affect the grain quality that later may not be able to satisfy the bakery industry due to rise in moisture content.”

Talking to farmers hailing from different areas of the district, they said that last year as well they had to face losses due to bad weather.

Preetinder Singh, a farmer from Narongwal village said, “Inclement weather has worried the farmers. Day and night, we talk about weather, which has become a big challenge for us. Hope state government will compensate us if damage continues to soar.”

Meanwhile, the district received a total of 16mm rain in the past 48 hours.