Wheat crops to be affected 2nd year in a row?

A week after Ministry of Agriculture predicted wheat production to reach 112.18 million tonnes during 2022-23, sudden rise in temperature has worried India’s farmers. There were no rains in the winter, and sudden rising temperature may have a bad impact on the wheat crop as it is in the milking and flowering stage. 

New Delhi, Feb 20: An unexpected rise in temperature has triggered worry amongst wheat farmers in India.  In most parts of Haryana, the maximum temperature has reached around 24 degrees Celsius, and the minimum is hovering at around 10 degrees Celsius.

Agriculture experts have stated that an early heat wave may hamper the growth of the wheat crop. In parts of North India, the maximum temperature has reached about 30 degrees Celsius, with no predictions of respite in the coming days.  Earlier in February, the central government stated that it was expecting record high yields for wheat crops. The said prediction was made based on favourable weather conditions in the last few months.

In 2022, farmers experienced cross loss due to an unexpected rise in temperature from the month of March. This year, however, the change in climatic conditions kicked in in the month of February itself. As per a report by the National Crop Forecasting Centre of the Department of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare, temperatures in the week of February 2-8, 2023 were higher than the average temperature of the last seven years.

Farm experts have said that every one degree rise in temperature causes damage to the wheat crop and affects its yield. Scientists at the Indian Institute of Wheat and Barley Research (IIWBR), Karnal, were hopeful of a bumper wheat crop in 2023. They believed that the country’s wheat production may break all previous records and reach over 112 million tonnes. Similar predictions were made for the wheat harvest in 2022.