CHAKWAL: Punjab agriculture department officials have attributed the Potohar region’s lower-than-average wheat yield this year to low winter rainfall and March winds that affected wheat production in the area.

“The sowing of wheat was done according to the set target in the region. In some areas, the sowing target was surpassed,” an official said.

“In the Chakwal district, the sowing target was set at 278,000 acres, but the crop was cultivated on an area of 392,000 acres,” the Chakwal agriculture department’s deputy director Mohammad Aslam said.

According to officials and farmers, the wheat crop was in good condition in the initial stages, but was hit by a drought in March.

Rainfall is needed in March, as this is the time when the wheat crop is in the flowering stage, Chakwal Assistant Director Agriculture Dr Mohammad Khalid said.

“Grain formation is also done during March, but there was less rain in March, which not only raised temperatures but also left the crop parched,” he said.

Mr Aslam added: “The winds that blew in March also caused moisture to evaporate, which adversely affected the wheat crop.”

Although the recommended wheat varieties for the Potohar region guarantees a yield of up to fifty maunds per acre, but the average wheat yield remains 15 to 17 maunds.

“This year, we set a target to achieve 13.4 maunds per acre, but it remains as low as 12.59 maunds per acre,” Mr Aslam said.

There are over 20 small dams in Chakwal, but the majority of farmers are unable to irrigate their crops because the main dams are not functional due to faults in their design.

Only 42,000 acres in the district are irrigated, and half of this area is irrigated by tubewells installed by farmers themselves.

Mr Aslam said a wheat yield of 38 maunds was witnessed from the irrigated area this year.

The region’s yield is 10 to 20pc lower, Dr Khalid said, and the size of the grain has also decreased because of the drought.

Published in Dawn, May 2nd, 2018