Rabi output set to rise on extended cold wave
A sharp fall in temperature this winter season has come as a boon for the rabi crop. Agriculture experts believe the cold wave that swept Gujarat will help increase crop production.
By Parag Dave, TNN |
AHMEDABAD: A sharp fall in temperature this winter season has come as a boon for the rabi crop. Agriculture experts believe the cold wave that swept Gujarat will help increase crop production.
While wheat will see a jump in yield thanks to a drop in temperature to levels considered conducive to several rabi crops, rapeseed production will also rise, making it a win-win situation for farmers. However, a prolonged cold wave in North Gujarat and Saurashtra might drop the cotton yield, forecast experts.
The cold wave this year was longer than usual without fog. The state also received sunlight in good quantity. These were ideal conditions for the cultivation of cuminseed and rapeseed, experts said.
���Farmers have always been complaining of insufficient cold until last year. This has changed for good this year, helping rabi crops increase production,������ said deputy director of state agriculture department (statistics), C M Patel. He said a more balanced climate this year would lead to an increase in an overall rabi production, helping crops like wheat, rapeseed, cuminseed, cotton, isabgol and fennelseed ripe early.
As per data available with the state agricultural department, wheat was cultivated in around 12 lakh hectares of land last year. This has gone up to 13 lakh hectares this year. Sources, however, are of the opinion that cotton yield in areas like Radhanpur, Harik and Saurashtra in North Gujarat will go down this year, again due to unusual cold weather.
According to Praveen Patel, director of Unjha APMC, the extended cold season was good for rapeseed production.
Cuminseed, which is being cultivated over 2.65 lakh hectare of land as against 2.5 lakh hectare last year, will see a jump in production from 1.5 lakh metric tonnes in 2007 to 1.6 lakh metric tonnes this year. According to director of Unjha APMC, Praveen Patel, extended cold season was good for rapeseed production.
While wheat will see a jump in yield thanks to a drop in temperature to levels considered conducive to several rabi crops, rapeseed production will also rise, making it a win-win situation for farmers. However, a prolonged cold wave in North Gujarat and Saurashtra might drop the cotton yield, forecast experts.
The cold wave this year was longer than usual without fog. The state also received sunlight in good quantity. These were ideal conditions for the cultivation of cuminseed and rapeseed, experts said.
���Farmers have always been complaining of insufficient cold until last year. This has changed for good this year, helping rabi crops increase production,������ said deputy director of state agriculture department (statistics), C M Patel. He said a more balanced climate this year would lead to an increase in an overall rabi production, helping crops like wheat, rapeseed, cuminseed, cotton, isabgol and fennelseed ripe early.
As per data available with the state agricultural department, wheat was cultivated in around 12 lakh hectares of land last year. This has gone up to 13 lakh hectares this year. Sources, however, are of the opinion that cotton yield in areas like Radhanpur, Harik and Saurashtra in North Gujarat will go down this year, again due to unusual cold weather.
According to Praveen Patel, director of Unjha APMC, the extended cold season was good for rapeseed production.
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Similarly, rapeseed, which is being cultivated on 3.4 lakh hectare land, less than last year���s figure of 3.6 lakh hectare, will also see an increase in overall production this year as compared to last year.. ``Rapeseed will witness a sharp jump in production thanks to a very different winter that the state witnessed this year. This, however, is not true for Rajasthan, which will see a drop in cultivation,������ said a Unjha-based rapeseed trader, Praveen Thakkar. Cuminseed, which is being cultivated over 2.65 lakh hectare of land as against 2.5 lakh hectare last year, will see a jump in production from 1.5 lakh metric tonnes in 2007 to 1.6 lakh metric tonnes this year. According to director of Unjha APMC, Praveen Patel, extended cold season was good for rapeseed production.
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