Tips to increase production of late sown wheat

摘要

Wheat is an important cereal crop and mainly consumed as staple food in the world. In Punjab, during 2014-15, it was grown on an area of 35.05 lakh hectares with production of 150.88 lakh tonnes and per hectare yield of 43.04 quintals. It is well known fact that the first fortnight of November is the optimum sowing time for wheat and delay in sowing results in yield decline. Late planting affects germination, growth, grain development and produces poor tillering due to low temperature injury. One week delay in sowing can decrease about 1.5 quintals of wheat yield per acre. The sowing of wheat in high cropping intensity crop rotations like maize/rice-potato-wheat, rice-pea-wheat, summer groundnut-potato/fo/v'a/pea/late kharif fodder-wheat, gets delayed. In Punjab, pea and potato crops occupy an area of 21.46 and 89.0 thousand hectares, respectively, and are mainly grown in Amritsar, Jalandhar and Kapurthala districts. The sowing of wheat in these areas gets delayed up to second fortnight of December.