May 15, 2012

Indian states anticipate record wheat production in 2012

 

India's Punjab and Haryana have increased their harvest projections to cross 170 lakh tonnes and 122 lakh tonnes, respectively, which will be all time high production figures.

 
The states have attributed the bumper winter crop production to prolonged winter conditions and absence of any severe attack of crop disease, officials of agriculture departments said.

 
As per advanced estimates prepared by Punjab, the state expects wheat output to cross 170 lakh tonnes, breaking the previous record of 164.72 lakh tonnes of output last season.

 
"Our estimation is that wheat production will cross 170 lakh tonnes mark this season which will be an all-time-high output figure in the history of state as the weather has been quite conducive for us this season," Punjab Agriculture Director M S Sandhu said.

 
"Had rains not lashed at the time of harvesting, our wheat output could have even gone up by 5-7 lakh quintals more," he added.

 
Punjab had earlier projected the output to be 156 lakh tonnes with 35.15 lakh hectares of area under cultivation this season. Punjab is also expecting highest ever yield of 48 quintals per hectare compared to last season's 46.92 quintals a hectare.

 
Similarly, Haryana has revised upwards its wheat output production estimates to 122 lakh tonnes -- a record high for the state.

"We have in our latest wheat estimates projected wheat production may cross 121-122 lakh tonnes this season," Haryana Agriculture Department Joint Director Rajinder Solanki said here.

 
Before sowing, Haryana had projected wheat output of 118.61 lakh tonnes with an area of 25.05 lakh hectares. The state's record production was 116.30 lakh tonnes in last season.