Dip in temp brings cheer to Rabi crop farmers

With the return of winter chill and the mercury plumetting, farmers across the country are hoping a good harvest of Rabi crops. Given that during the second fortnight of December and by January 25, the temperature in some states has been 2-3 degrees Celsius, the earlier enhanced temperature will not cast any adverse effect on the crops.

According to Union Agriculture Minister Radha Mohan Singh, rain was reported in some parts of Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh and eastern Uttar Pradesh, which will be beneficial for Rabi crops. 

“The national forecaster – Indian Metrological Department (IMD) – has predicted that northern and north-eastern parts are likely to witness rain, which will have a good impact on the crops related to Rabi season,” the minister told Millennium Post.

Agreeing with the minister, Bhartiya Kisan Union’s Rakesh Tikait said: “Even though the persistent dip in temperature is making life difficult for people, but it is good for the crops. The comeback of winter has saved crops from dying as January is grains’ filling period and if temperature would not have fallen, the whole crop would have been damaged.” 

“Apart from being a key constituent of food items, Rabi crops are also equally important for livestock as they are a major fodder substitute for animals,” he added.

Another farmer from Vidarbha, the eastern region of Maharashtra, Ganesh Nanote, has expressed his concerns for groundnut farming as cold spells are not good for the peanuts against wheat and pulses. 

“The comeback of winter will prove very crucial for crops like wheat, gram and other pulses and oilseeds, but it will not be beneficial for groundnut framing,” Nanote said, adding that the chilling winter delays germination process in groundnuts by 5-10 days in normal temperature and if the temperature dips further, it may get delayed by 12-15 days.

Happy with the onset of cold weather, Indian Council of Agricultural Research’s (ICAR) Deputy Director General AK Sikka said: “Rain spells in some parts of the country and chilling weather conditions have given a sigh of relief (to farmers), the things are now in control.”

“There will be no adversity anymore. The cold conditions will improve the overall yield of Rabi crops, which was not expected in rough weather conditions, when the temperature was on a higher side,” Sikka told Millennium Post.

According to the latest crop-sowing data, wheat has been sown on 291.97 lakh hectares of land this year, whereas it was 4.46 per cent lesser last year at 305.60 lakh hectare.  There are still chances of increase in the sowing area of wheat as sowing of the Rabi crop is still on. 

While the sowing area of pulses is 2.75 per cent lesser in comparison to the last year’s sowing area as the present sowing area is 139.077 lakh hectare which was 143.014 lakh hectare by this time last year.