After last week’s heavy rainfall, the incessant downpour on Wednesday left wheat growers worried. The wheat plants have reportedly flattened in several areas of the district. The wheat stems were flattened within minutes of the hailstorm, causing huge damage to the crops. The fields filled with rainwater are expected to deteriorate the quality of the sprouting grains. The farmers claimed that they suffered a loss of around two to three quintals of wheat on every one-acre land. Wheat, maize, peas, and mustard are the major Rabi crops that reported losses. Rain accompanied by winds started in the morning and continued till late evening. Daljit Singh, a farmer from Kartarpur who owns four acres, said after rain on Friday, the fields remained inundated with water and today’s rain added to the woes. He claimed to have suffered a loss of around one-quintal wheat. Similar reports of losses were also reported from other villages in the district. Guapal Singh, a farmer from Lidhran village, said after the flattening of the crop, he fears to blacken of grains. Even the combine harvester machine would not be helpful for the flattened crops after the rain and once the grains would turn black, the quality of wheat would be degraded and eventually the price would be dropped. “At present, such weather can either destroy the standing crop completely or damage its quality,” said agricultural experts. District agriculture officer Naresh Kumar Gulati said this was the most crucial time for the crop and any such disturbance would result in decreased yield. Especially, the heavy winds would leave the crops damaged. Meanwhile, agriculture officers also claimed that no crop damage was reported from the fields where straw management was done after the harvesting of the paddy crop. As per the weather forecast, thunderstorms and rain are likely to hit the region again in the next few days. Source - https://www.tribuneindia.com