Boost for rabi crops as rain likely this week in northwestern, central plains
An ICAR-Institute of Wheat and Barley Research bulletin said wheat sowing is almost complete and favourable weather, with adequate winter rainfall, is supporting vegetative growth
Moderate to widespread snow and rain were likely in the Western Himalayans and the northwestern and central Indian plains from Friday to Sunday even as the Indian Council for Agricultural Research (ICAR) on Wednesday said the fresh rainfall would boost rabi or winter-sown crops, especially wheat, lentils, barley, and mustard. This will be the second wet spell this winter since December 27-29.
An ICAR-Institute of Wheat and Barley Research bulletin said wheat sowing is almost complete and favourable weather, with adequate winter rainfall, is supporting vegetative growth and tillering of wheat. “The rainfall in coming days and recent weeks will help improve soil moisture, provide early-season irrigation needed for wheat in [a] vegetative state, and boost reservoir levels,” said ICAR scientist Pranjit Talukdar.
The ICAR has issued an advisory asking growers with canal-fed farms not to “over irrigate”. The fresh rain was expected to especially help non-irrigated wheat-growing belts over five agro-climatic zones from Madhya Pradesh to Uttar Pradesh.
The winter staple is grown in about 31.8 million hectares of land with total production hovering around 113.29 million tonnes, according to official data. A higher wheat output could help tame elevated food prices. Retail food and beverage inflation cooled slightly to 8.2% in November from a peak of 9.69% in October, according to official data.
The India Meteorological Department (IMD) said a fresh western disturbance and its interaction with easterly winds were likely to affect the weather in northwest India.
A cyclonic circulation was over northeast Assam at lower tropospheric levels and a cyclonic circulation over the southeast Bay of Bengal and adjoining Equatorial Indian Ocean at lower tropospheric levels. Another cyclonic circulation was over north Tamil Nadu and neighbourhood. These systems were expected to cause widespread rainfall in Peninsular India.
