Unusually wet weather in India this March has been a cause of concern for farmers across the country. First there were speculations about crop production dropping considerably, and now the worry of harvest getting delayed. According to media reports wheat harvesting in Punjab and Haryana is likely to get delayed by about half a month due to untimely rain in North India.
Wheat harvesting normally starts by March end or first week of April. But Because of delay in harvesting this time, wheat arrivals in grain markets of Punjab and Haryana are likely to pick up only after the second week of April.
"Wheat harvesting will get delayed by at least 10 days because of rains," Punjab Agriculture, Director, M S Sandhu said to the media.
“A number of Western Disturbances and continuous formation of cyclonic circulations, not so common for the month of March, have led to unseasonal rainfall and hail, not just in North India but also in Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra in Central India this year”,said G.P Sharma of Skymet’s Meteorological Division.
Rains have lashed several parts of Punjab and Haryana including Faridkot, Ferozepur, Mohali, Bathinda, Amritsar, Patiala, Hissar and Chandigarh in the last 48 hours. Fresh thundershowers occurred in the hills today morning in view of a fresh Western Disturbance and a cyclonic circulation near Rajasthan.
Available records show, weather in Amritsar has been abnormally rainy in March with more than double the normal average rainfall recorded.The city has recorded 66.3 mm, as opposed to the normal rainfall figure of 29 mm. On the other hand, Patiala and Ludhiana have received 37.6 mm and 28.8 mm of rainfall respectively. Hisar and Chandigarh in Haryana have also recorded 31.6 mm and 70 mm of rain respectively so far.
According to the latest weather update by Skymet’s Meteorological Division in India, rain/thundershowers would continue to occur in Punjab, Haryana, parts of Rajasthan and Delhi tomorrow. Forecast suggests possibility of rain next week too.
Weather could be cloudy till tomorrow, which isn't good for wheat as it requires optimum sunshine for ripening. Notably, rain and hail earlier this month, had lead to a significant damage to crops. Amritsar has already faced a maximum crop loss, with the crop yield getting affected by 5 to 7%.
Punjab is expecting wheat procurement of 115 lakh tons in 2014-15 against 110 lakh tons procured in 2013-14.
Photo by reuters.
