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Ongoing rains boon for crops, bane for fruit orchards
Pakistan
Friday 11 April 2008
According to the local Met office forecast intermittent rain would continue till April 14. The intermittent rains lashing the whole province have also brought miseries for the slum residents of the Frontier province.
The shower would enhance per acre yield of wheat as the crop is in flowering process in some parts while in many areas it is passing through grain-growth process. According to agriculture experts wheat crop badly need water at this stage and the rain, late though, would help in grain growth. It would definitely enhance per acre yield by further growing the grain as cold temperature would provide more time for the crop maturity, said Dr Fazle Subhan, senior research scientist at NIFA. However, Asadullah Khan, an official at agriculture department Chitral told ‘The News’ on telephone that rains might affect fruit product in Upper Chitral. The fruit orchards, especially apple and apricots are in flowering stage and rain would have negative impact on its productivity but it would enhance wheat yield, he said.
Muhammad Ismail, a farmer from Mardan is not optim-istic about improvement in the wheat crop yield saying that the crop has already dried up due to drought. It would have good affects on sugarcane and vegetables but wheat crop in rain-fed areas has already been damaged, he added. Peshawar had received 181, Swat 141, Risalpur 87 and Kakool 148 millimetre rain during the past week. Kalam remained the coldest place in the province with minimum 2 degree centigrade temperature recorded on Wednesday. Malam Jaba followed with 2.5 degree Celsius, Dir and Chitral 80 degree, Balakot 11 while in Peshawar
The shower would enhance per acre yield of wheat as the crop is in flowering process in some parts while in many areas it is passing through grain-growth process. According to agriculture experts wheat crop badly need water at this stage and the rain, late though, would help in grain growth. It would definitely enhance per acre yield by further growing the grain as cold temperature would provide more time for the crop maturity, said Dr Fazle Subhan, senior research scientist at NIFA. However, Asadullah Khan, an official at agriculture department Chitral told ‘The News’ on telephone that rains might affect fruit product in Upper Chitral. The fruit orchards, especially apple and apricots are in flowering stage and rain would have negative impact on its productivity but it would enhance wheat yield, he said.
Muhammad Ismail, a farmer from Mardan is not optim-istic about improvement in the wheat crop yield saying that the crop has already dried up due to drought. It would have good affects on sugarcane and vegetables but wheat crop in rain-fed areas has already been damaged, he added. Peshawar had received 181, Swat 141, Risalpur 87 and Kakool 148 millimetre rain during the past week. Kalam remained the coldest place in the province with minimum 2 degree centigrade temperature recorded on Wednesday. Malam Jaba followed with 2.5 degree Celsius, Dir and Chitral 80 degree, Balakot 11 while in Peshawar
