Farmers of wheat are advised to safeguard their crop against hot conditions

Wheat growers have received advice from the government on how to protect their crops against increasing temperatures and the growing likelihood of heat waves.

Farmers are advised by this recommendation to harvest wheat with a moisture content of 12–13% and to use moderate irrigation if temperatures rise above average.

Maximum temperatures are predicted to progressively rise by 2-3°C in several regions of the nation, especially in North India and along the East and West coastlines, according to the Indian Meteorological Department (IMD).

Central and peninsular Indian farmers are advised by the Indian Institute of Wheat & Barley Research (ICAR-IIWBR) to ensure that their barley has an appropriate moisture content (12–13%) during harvest and to take care of any required cleaning for safe storage. It is recommended that farmers in the northeast and northwest maintain sufficient soil moisture levels for crop development by using light irrigation as required.

During the post-anthesis stage of wheat, farmers can spray 0.2 percent muriate of potash or 2 percent potassium nitrate mixed with 200 liters of water per acre to prevent crop desiccation and mitigate heat stress, according to Dr. Gyanendra Singh, Director of ICAR-IIWBR.

Farmers in hilly regions are also recommended to use pesticides like Propiconazole 25EC and to keep an eye out for illnesses like brown rust and yellow rust in their wheat harvests. This requires mixing one milliliter of chemical with one liter of water, then spraying each acre of wheat crop with 200 milliliters of fungicide combined with 200 liters of water.

The advise highlights that 8–10 days before to harvesting, late-sown crops should only get minimal watering, and irrigation should be discontinued altogether.

The Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare has forecast wheat output to be 112.02 million tonnes (MT) despite these difficulties, or around 1.46 MT greater than last year due to a 1.21% increase in the area seeded in comparison to the previous year.