With February being abnormally warm, farmers have been worried about a repetition of last year’s impact of heat on the staple crop
The Centre announced a ban on wheat export on May 13, 2022, amid a spike in global wheat prices and a dip in domestic government stocks due to yield loss in the wheat crop. Photo: iStock. Temperature rise in India’s northern plains is unlikely to impact wheat grain growth adversely, the government told the Lok Sabha on March 14, 2023.
The maximum temperature in the northern Indian plains in February 2023 was hovering around 32-33 degrees Celsius in most of the area and this temperature is unlikely to impact the wheat grain growth adversely as “crop canopy temperature can be easily modulated by 2-3°C, less than air temperature by irrigation.”
Read more: Wheat crisis: High heat in February cause of worry for critical Rabi crop
Surveys conducted by ICAR-Indian Institute of Wheat and Barley Research (IIWBR), Karnal, in collaboration with state agricultural universities and Krishi Vigyan Kendras, found that the wheat crop situation is normal, informed Narendra Singh Tomar, minister of agriculture and farmers welfare.
With February being abnormally warm, farmers have been worried about a repetition of last year’s impact of heat on the staple crop.
The IIWBR, in February, had issued advisories, asking farmers to inspect their crops for yellow rust disease, which is a result of high temperatures.
India Meteorological Department (IMD) late February 20 also issued an advisory on the impact of higher day temperatures on wheat and other standing crops in the northern Indian states.
“In central and peninsular India, the temperature always remains comparatively higher against northern plains throughout the crop growth period and crop phenology is naturally adjusted accordingly,” he said in a written reply to a question on the impact of heat on wheat crop.
Therefore, in these areas, a temperature as high as 35°C will also not impact wheat yield adversely, he added.
Read more: Rabi 2022-23: Increase in wheat sowing marginal, shows government data
Wheat production in the country is estimated at 112.18 million tonnes, higher by 4.44 million tonnes than the production achieved during 2021-22, according to the Second Advance Estimates for the agriculture year 2022-23.
But the state-wise absolute increase/decrease in wheat sowing area in the current year (2022-2023) over the last five years’ (2017-2018 to 2021-2022) average showed a fall in the three major wheat-growing states of Uttar Pradesh, Haryana and Punjab. Assam, Jharkhand, Karnataka, Telangana and Uttarakhand were other states where a decrease was estimated.
The government has been eyeing a bumper crop to consider lifting the ban on its export. Higher output would also ease some of the inflationary pressures on wheat.
Read more: Wheat Crisis: Government procurement goals not met, food security risk increases
The Centre announced a ban on wheat export on May 13, 2022, amid a spike in global wheat prices and a dip in domestic government stocks due to yield loss in the wheat crop. The crop recorded a drop in productivity due to the heatwave in March in the states of Punjab, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh.
However, even as the government maintained that the production would be normal, Tomar mentioned that currently, there was no proposal for lifting the restriction on wheat export.
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