MULTAN: Agriculture experts have urged farmers to complete wheat sowing till Nov 20 pleading any delay can reduce potential of production by one per cent per day that comes around to 15-20 kilogram per acre per one day delayed.
Agriculture spokesman said in a statement that wheat sowing target had been set at 16.8 million acre for the year 2016-17 and production target at 19.5 million ton in Punjab.
Spokesman said that small farmers need to improve their agronomic practices and sowing at proper time was one of the factors that affects the yield. He said that ordinary farmers usually obtain 28 Maunds per acre of wheat against 50-60 Maunds per acre harvested by the progressive farmers. Small farmers are slightly behind the world’s average wheat production of 31 Maunds per acre, he said adding that they need not only to touch the world’s average per acre production but also to go beyond to match country’s progressive farmers.
Wheat produced in southern part of Punjab enjoy prominent place in the world for having Protein and Glutin contents and the Amber colour.
Experts said that farmers should sow approved varieties of wheat including Faisalabad-2008, AARI-2011, Punjab-2011, Millat-2011, AAS-2011, NARC-2011, Galaxy-2013, and Ujala-2016.Farmers also need to apply Phosphorous, Potassium and Nitrogenous fertilizers in balanced proportion to get enhanced production. They should utilize the seed having germination strength not below 85 per cent.
In case of delay after Nov 20, farmers should apply 60 kilogram seed per acre from Nov 21 to Dec 15. Increase in seed quantity was necessary in case of late sowing because gradual decrease in temperature can affect the seed germination capability, the release concluded.
