Unseasonable rainfall, accompanied by strong winds and hail, has resulted in significant damage to wheat crops across Punjab. Recent reports from April 7 suggest that the extent of the losses may exceed initial estimates of 1.25 lakh acres, raising concerns about both crop yield and quality just before the harvest season.<\/p>\n
On April 7, Punjab experienced an average precipitation of 13.8 mm, with certain districts receiving even heavier rainfall, along with hailstorms and strong gusts. Officials have indicated that this recent weather event has exacerbated the already challenging conditions for farmers. Field reports from the same day indicate a dramatic increase in the scale of damage. Moga recorded 40 mm of rain, resulting in crop losses of 40\u201345% in several areas due to hail. Meanwhile, Ferozepur and Fazilka reported damage estimates ranging from 25% to 30%. In Barnala and Mansa, losses were noted at around 10\u201312%, with a total of nearly 2.33 lakh acres of wheat flattened in these two districts alone.<\/p>\n
Faridkot and SAS Nagar reported heavy rainfall and waterlogging, with recorded precipitation of 22.2 mm and 19.2 mm, respectively. Other districts, including Amritsar, Gurdaspur, Hoshiarpur, Jalandhar, Kapurthala, Ludhiana, Patiala, Sangrur, and Tarn Taran, experienced lodging damage between 2% and 10%.<\/p>\n
With continuous rain occurring on April 7 and 8, officials expect that the total area impacted will rise significantly beyond previous estimates.<\/p>\n
The district most severely affected was Fazilka, with approximately 43,978 acres impacted, followed by Sri Muktsar Sahib at 42,720 acres, Bathinda at 20,430 acres, and Moga at 11,520 acres. Other districts such as Mansa, Amritsar, and Ferozepur also reported damages, but officials caution that these numbers may now be outdated due to the ongoing adverse weather. Experts emphasize that the timing of this weather event has proven particularly detrimental, as the wheat was fully mature and ready for harvest.<\/p>\n
The strong winds led to widespread lodging of crops, while hailstorms added weight to the crop heads, causing stem breakage. Furthermore, waterlogging in low-lying areas intensified the damage, likely leading to poor grain filling and a decline in quality.<\/p>\n
Dr. Gurjeet Singh Brar, the Director of Agriculture, announced that a special assessment (girdawari) has been initiated to evaluate the actual extent of the damage. According to the India Meteorological Department, Punjab has recorded nearly 15 times the usual rainfall from April 1 to April 7. Weather conditions are anticipated to improve after April 10. However, experts warn that farmers may face dual challenges: diminished yields from damaged crops and reduced market prices due to inferior grain quality. Punjab, which cultivates around 35 lakh hectares (86.45 lakh acres) of wheat, had initially projected a substantial harvest this season.<\/p>\n
In related news, the Punjab Agriculture and Farmers Welfare Minister, Gurmeet Singh Khuddian, has urged the central government to dispatch a high-level team to assess the damage inflicted on wheat and other Rabi crops by the recent heavy rain and hailstorms.<\/p>\n
Additionally, commission agents, referred to as ‘arhtiyas’ in Punjab, announced on Wednesday that they would end their week-long strike following discussions with state agriculture and water resources ministers, thus allowing procurement activities to resume at the mandis.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Unseasonable rainfall, accompanied by strong winds and hail, has resulted in significant damage to wheat crops across Punjab. Recent reports from April 7 suggest that the extent of the losses may exceed initial estimates of 1.25 lakh acres, raising concerns about both crop yield and quality just before the harvest season. On April 7, Punjab […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":5847,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[77,78,40],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-5848","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-in-chandigarh","category-in-cities","category-india"],"yoast_head":"\n