HARIPUR, April 2: Low rainfall has badly damaged the wheat crop in district Haripur and the authorities fear shortage of local variety of wheat flour and seed during the season, official sources told Dawn here on Wednesday.

Although most part of Haripur received rainfall on Sunday night measuring about 12mm, the harsh weather had already wreaked havoc with the grain of the staple crop, sources at the agriculture office told.

According to statistics collected from the Department of Agriculture, the Haripur district has 85,000 hectares of total cultivable land and wheat crop was sown on about 37,000 hectares during every Rabi season and out of which 52 per cent of the area under wheat crop was rain dependent (barani).

During the previous Rabi season wheat was grown on 32,653 hectares of un-irrigated and 4,595 hectares on irrigated area and the per acre yield was received at the rate of 24.814 metric tons from irrigated and 14.09 metric tons from un-irrigated areas while for the year 2007/08 the growers first opinion suggested that 4,615 and 32,670 hectares of area was under wheat crop.

The yield for the new Rabi season was estimated as 10,600 metric tons from irrigated areas and 43,097 metric tons from un-irrigated area. However, low rain fall has caused great harm to the wheat crop both at vegetative and reproductive growth phases due to which not only the plant size had reduced but has also shrunken the wheat grain.

As the area received low rainfall during Rabi season which was measured at 140 mm in total. This has badly affected the physiological period of wheat.

When approached for comments the District Officer Agriculture Raja Abdul Rasheed Khan confirmed the damage done to the wheat crop due to low rainfall during the last four months. He told that usually the wheat cultivation started in the first week of November and harvesting in the middle of April every year.

During these 180 days the crop needs at least 400 mm of rain from vegetative growth phase (before the grain develops) to reproductive growth phase (when the grain develops and gains weight), but Haripur received only 150 mm of rain he said adding that on February 7, only 2.5 mm and on March 30, about 12 mm of rain was recorded in the district which was not sufficient for the growth of grain that had resultantly shrunken.

Mr Rasheed said that due to the destruction of wheat crop the seed problem for the local farmers would also affect the cultivation of wheat crop during the next season as according to the tradition the local farmers retain 10 per cent of the total grain for seed purpose every year.There will be no husk (bhoosa) for the cattle which would ultimately facilitate an upward trend in the price of wheat flour and husk forcing the authorities to import wheat from Punjab, Raja Rasheed said.

He said that the shortage of husk (bhoosa) would also affect the cattle prices.

Usually in Haripur the variety of seed used are Ukab 2000, imported from Punjab while local varieties include Bakhtawar, Suleman 96, Noshera 96, Daman, Saleem and Naseer 2000.

The monthly requirement of wheat flour for over 800,000 population of the district Haripur, according to the food department sources, was 70,000 100-kg bags and up to 60 per cent of requirement was fulfilled from import from Punjab.