Winter wheat, pulses output may stay firm

NEW DELHI: The sluggish pace of sowing in wheat and pulses is unlikely to affect the output. A good weather marked with a dip in temperature and morning dew may help the crop. “The weather is perfect for a bountiful harvest. If the conditions prevail for a month, yield will be higher especially in the case of wheat and mustard. But the situation may turn bad if temperature dips beyond 4 degree,” says Jaishankar Mishra, an agriscientist.


According to latest sowing data, wheat sowing lags behind last year’s pace, covering 272.79 lakh hectare – down by 4 lakh hectare.

The pulses acreage is down by 1.62 lakh hectare, bringing down the overall rabi acreage to 542 lakh hectare as against 547.01 lakh hectare last year. “After the announcement of a hike in floor prices of wheat, acreage will slightly go up. However, there won’t be any significant rise due to a nominal hike of Rs 65 per quintal,” said RS Sharma, a senior agri-scientist.

“The insignificant hike in wheat MSP will not be reflected in this season as farmers have already sown the crop in anticipation of higher support prices. Next year, they may go for oilseeds and pulses, which are more remunerative. The wheat production, which has been breaking e ceiling every year, will definitely have some impact next year,” said Sudhir Panwar, president of the Krishak Jagrati Manch, a farmer group.