TAXILA: As a ripe wheat crop stands tall in vast fields across the Taxila region, farmers are in a hurry to reap the crop with a marathon harvest underway to avert any potential damage from untimely rain spells.

Ghulam Rabbani, a farmer in Jalla union council, appeared concerned about downpours and recent rainfall, saying time was running out for the farmers to save their harvest. He said after the recent rain spell on Friday, they were worried about their grain and chaff turning black and developing a sour taste.

Like Rabbani, other farmers are also apprehensive, especially because of a three-week delay in the harvest due to the wettest April in decades.

Taxila’s Kissan Ittehad President Shaukat Ayub claimed another spell of rain was likely in the second week of this month and the farmers wanted to wrap up their harvest before the rain hits the region.

Growers worry about quality of grain, say harvest already delayed by up to 20 days

“Wheat harvest has been completed in most districts of the province, while in this area of Potohar, it has commenced in several areas amid fears that another spell of rain may damage the standing crop,” added Mr Ayub.

According to statistics from the agriculture department, the total cultivated area in Taxila was 30,000 acres and this year the expected yield would be 25-27 monds per acre.

Ali Asghar, whose fields fall in the area of Lub Union Council, agreed about the harmful impact of the rainfall on wheat and its harvest.

“…wheat becomes heavy due to the rain and strong winds level the crop, which will make the harvesting difficult,” he said, adding that the accumulation of water in the fields made it difficult for harvesters to enter, further delaying the harvest.

Malik Tahir Suleman said at present the threshing was at its peak as the farmers wanted to finish the job as quickly as possible. He claimed that the threshers were charging an “exorbitant price” for the task because of the urgency of the matter as the farmers wanted to save their crops from further damage.

Haroon Khan, an agriculture department official, claimed that most of the crop fortunately remained unharmed during the rain spells and the harvest would begin in full swing in a couple of days after the moisture in the fields has evaporated.

Dr Idress, the assistant director of agriculture in Taxila, told Dawn that the harvesting would be completed in the next 10 to 20 days if not interrupted by rainfall. He said unseasonal rains in April and the cold weather delayed the harvesting of the wheat crop, especially in the Taxila and adjourning areas for about two weeks.

He, however, said that the farmers harvested 18 to 20 per cent of the wheat crop over the past few days. “Now that the weather has become hot and dry, the farmers should complete the harvesting as early as possible.”

When contacted, Rawalpindi Division Agriculture Extension Director Syed Shahid Iftikhar Bukhari, however, said that the untimely rainfall would be beneficial for the Kharif crops, especially in arid areas. “As per the Punjab agriculture department, recent rains have insignificantly affected the wheat crop,” he claimed, downplaying the impact of rainfall on wheat.

Published in Dawn, May 7th, 2024